Love Sucks: Nessie's Guide to Love and Life
by BrokenFirePen
Summary: Hey, guys, it's Nessie. I thought, since most of you are huge stalker-fans of me and Jake, that I'd let you in on our little romance. How we got together, broke up over the stupidest thing and totally went against Dad's rules. Well, I'll talk to you soon!
1. Chapter 1&2

**Welcome! For those who haven't read this story before, just continue on and forget this whole little message here. For those who HAVE read the story before, allow me to explain why you have SO many alerts that say I added new chapters that you've already read. So... The story with wicked long, and we weren't even to the good part yet. Which sucks. Thirty four chapters, and not even at the part where... Well, yeah. But, the point is, I just condenced everything down. I didn't cut any writing, I didn't add any writing, I didn't even change a comma to a period. What I did do was take two or three chapters and push them into one word doument so that everything would be shorter and I wouldn't have thirty four individual chapters on this story. **

**Nothing has changed in the story, I promise. **

**Continue on your way now... **

Chapter One: Preface

For all of you out there who think you're experienced in the world of love; you've been through all the most depressing, heart crushing break-ups there could be, you've been in the most fantastic relationships there could ever be and you've 'found Mr. Right.' Well, I have a wee bit of new for you. _I'm _the one who's been through the most depressing, heart crushing break-ups, fantastic relationships and I've found 'Mr. Right.' You may ask me how I did it. Well, I'll tell you, but not now. Dad's in the next room and I don't want him to know what I'm writing.

I can tell you one thing, though. It's a little unhelpful, but it's the only thing I can say right now. Welcome to… _Love Sucks: Nessie's Guide to Love and Life.  
~*~_

Chapter Two: 'He loves me, He loves me not'

Eight hundred and twenty-three. That is how many flowers I've done 'He loves me, he loves me not' on and it's maddening. I've got two flowers left and I don't know what I'm going to end up on.

I don't really know why I'm so nervous about this. I don't even believe in things like the 'send this to ten people or bad luck for two years' e-mails or the 'the person you love will ask you to marry them if you send this to five of your closest friends' text messages because one, they never happened and two, I'm going to be alive for the rest of eternity so it didn't really matter if I had back luck for how ever many years I was living. I don't believe in omens or curses, so why am I believing in this?

I picked up another daisy. First petal. "He loves me." Second petal. "He loves me not." Third petal. "He loves me." Fourth petal. "He loves me… Oh, screw it! It doesn't matter does it?" I pushed the petals away from me and stood up. I started jumping around my room, bringing my knees up to my chest with each bounce. I pounded my fists in the air, shaking my head all over the place. I heard someone clear their throat. I stopped, standing up straight and brushing my hair out of my face. "Hi, Emmett."

He came in, and stood in front of me. "What's up, honey bunches?" he asked, pulling daisy petals out of my hair.

I shrugged. "I dunno, why?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Because you're jumping around your room like a maniac and you've got petals all over your room, in your hair and, um, down your shirt."

I blushed and looked down my shirt. It was true. It looked like someone planted a garden down there. As I brushed it out, I looked up at Emmett. "You really shouldn't be looking down there. You're my uncle," I said, laughing.

"Eh, well, you know," he said, shrugging. "Anyway, off the perverted road and onto the reality one, what's going on? Why were you jumping around your room? I get home and the chandelier looks like it's going to fall right out of the ceiling."

My eyes flicked around the room. "Where's everybody else?"

"Well, I don't know anything except that Rosalie and Alice are still on their two week shopping event and Carlisle is at the hospital."

"Oh," I said, flopping down on my bed. "Well, anyway. Nothing's going on. I was just doing 'he loves me, he loves me not'."

He smiled. "And I'm guessing you stopped on a 'he loves me not'?" he said, sitting down next to me.

I looked at him. "Well, no, actually. I just gave up and got pissed off."

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it, obviously confused. "O… kay?" he said, running his hand through his hair. "Well, no more jumping. You're going to break the ceiling, alright?"

I nodded, not really paying attention. "Uh-huh, right," I said in monotone.

Someone knocked on my door. "Can I come in?"

"Dad!" I shrieked, jumping off my bed and running to fling open my door. "Hi!" I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. "How was your trip?"

He kissed my head and held me back. "It was great, love. Your mother and I had a wonderful time," he said, smiling.

"A.K.A., they had sex, Nessie. See, with you around all the time, they can't do that, but if they go away… board your windows," Emmett said, walking out of the room.

Dad punched him than looked at me. I gave him the 'totally disgusted' look. "That's not true-"

"Yes, it is!" Emmett shouted from down stairs, interrupting him. "You know it is, Edward! Don't deny it!"

Dad sighed. "Moving on. You look different, honey. Did you change at all? You look more grown up," he said, pushing my side bangs out of my face.

"I don't know, I sort of stopped paying attention to that stuff."

Lie. I actually have been paying more attention to it than I should. I mean, come on! Would you pay attention if you grew two whole cup sizes in three weeks? He knew this. "Renesmee, you're beautiful no matter what. Stop worrying about it, alright?" I nodded. "Alright, then. Do you want to come hunting with me and your mother?" he asked, leaning against the door frame.

I shrugged than nodded. "Sure, why not," I said, grabbing my Converse out of my closet and following him down the stairs. "Hi, Mom! How was your trip?" I said, going over to hug her.

She gathered me up in her arms. "Hey, baby. It was fun," she said, hugging me tightly.

I smiled. "Good." I stepped away and looked at her. She looked different to me, more happy and relaxed. _Maybe Emmett's right, _I thought, putting my shoes.

Dad came and sat next to me. "He's not right, Nessie. He's far from," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

Emmett poked his into the living room. "It _so _is true, Eddiekins," he said, smiling deviously.

Dad gave him the death glare. "Okay, let's go _now_," he said, taking Mom's hand.

We walked out of the front doors, running down to the forest. Mom and Dad went out right away, chasing God know what. I stayed where I was, carefully listening and smelling. I caught a scent and ran after it. I was difficult to catch it; the frigging deer was jumping all over the place. I wasn't _really _hungry –I'd hunted earlier with Emmett– so when I finished the deer, I found Mom and Dad and told them I was going back to the house.

I tromped through the forest and walked out into the back yard. My heart fluttered when I saw Jacob standing there with no shirt on. _Why am I feeling this way? I've seen his chest before, his lovely, lovely chest… No, snap out of it, Nessie. You're too…_*sigh* _in love with him. _Oh, dear, Lord. I'm dead.

He turned his head. "Hey, Nessie! How are you?" he said, walking over to me.

My heart started humming in my chest. "Oh, hi, Jake." I could practically feel the heat radiating off of him; that's how close to me he was. "I'm… fine I guess. What's going on with you?"

He shrugged. "Eh, not much. I was just talking to Seth. He said he was going to try to come down for your birthday." It was true. He was holding his Blackberry in his right hand.

I lit up. I hadn't seen Seth since I was a baby. "Really?" He nodded. "When did he say he was going to come down?"

He looked up at the sky, thinking. "He said maybe by Sunday, if he could. It's a good time. You're birthday's on Monday, right?"

I huffed. He _knew _my birthday was on Monday. "Yes," I said solemnly.

He took my hands and my stomach jumped. "I can't believe you're turning thirteen. It seems like only yesterday you were a little baby crawling around the floor. You've grown up so much since than I'll tell you that." _He loves me… _"It's so weird." _He loves me not…? _

I sighed, my breath coming out in little bursts. "Speaking of my birthday, I have to go call Alice and tell her I don't want my party to be a sweet sixteen," I said, sliding my hands out of his. "I'll see you later."

"Aren't they coming back from their shopping thingy today?" he said, pushing his hair away from his face. God, it's so scraggly and sexy.

I nodded. "Yeah, but that still gives her three days to plan, if she doesn't go to school on Monday." I walked up to the house and opened the door. Emmett was sitting in the living room with his laptop on his lap. He was typing rapidly. "Who are you talking to?" I asked, sitting next to him.

"Alice and Rosalie," he said, hitting the Enter key so hard a corner of it broke off.

"On the same IM?" I tilted the screen down so I could see.

He scoffed. "No. They're on different ones," he said, clicking on the flashing doc in the toolbar. It was Rosalie.

**IceColdBeauty39: **looking 4ward 2 it! ;)

**MuscleMan28: **u don't even kno…

I rolled my eyes and sat up straight. "Could you tell Alice I don't want a big birthday party?" I asked, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.

He huffed. "Fine." He clicked on the IM with Alice.

**MuscleMan28: **Nessie wants 2 hav a small bday parT

**Shopaholic66: **y?

**MuscleMan28: **Idk. she's weird

**Shopaholic66: ***Huff* tell her 2 bad

He looked at me. "Too bad," he said, smiling.

I glared at the screen than ran up to my room. As I sat at my desk I moved my finger across the mouse pad of my laptop and my back round came up. It was a picture of me and Jacob at First Beach, before we moved to Chicago. I was sitting on his shoulders and we were standing in the water, waving at Alice, who was taking the picture. I smiled and opened up IM and signed on. I clicked Alice's screen name.

**BronzeBabe87: **Alice, PLZ don't giv me a big bday parT!

**Shopaholic66: **y not? i always did b4.

**BronzeBabe87: **i just don't want 1 this yr, u kno?

She didn't reply for a minute, and I thought that she left me hanging there. Than she replied.

**Shopaholic66: **well, fine. ur such a parT pooper!

**BronzeBabe87: **thnx.

**Shopholic66: **LOL. C u l8r, k? back round 11. tell Esme, alrite?

I sighed with relief and logged off, closing my laptop. Someone knocked on my door just as I flopped down on my bed. "Come in!" I said, closing my eyes.

"Mission accomplished?" I heard Jacob say. "What the hell happened to your room?" I completely forgot I still had the petals all over my floor. "Did a flower shop explode in here or something?"

I sat up. "No, it didn't. I was just… being… weird," I said, embarrassed to say that I was doing 'he loves me, he loves me not,' especially since he was the one I was doing it about.

He laughed and sat next to me, holding out a plate of cookies to me. I took one. "So, um, did you tell Alice?" he said through a cookie.

I looked at him. _Christ, he's close. _"Oh, yeah, I did. She agreed. I don't know what she's going to do, but you know," I said, taking his glass of milk from him and taking a sip. "I just hope I get good presents."

"As oppose to the crappy ones you got last year?" he said sarcastically. "I mean, come on. Your family practically gave you a whole Prada store and silk sheets." He ran his hand along my light purple sheets, raising his eyebrow at me.

I scoffed. "That is _so _untrue," I said, knowing full well that it was. I had this one rack of clothes that had been birthday presents last year. They were all Prada.

"Anyway," he said, "are you excited for your birthday party?"

I rolled my eyes and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "Ecstatic," I said sarcastically. "Alice is going to make a huge ordeal even if I asked her not to. She just doesn't understand that she may like big parties and lots of presents for her birthday but I'd rather watch football with Emmett and Jasper and go to bed afterward without wearing new silk tank tops and shorts that Alice bought me."

His back stiffened and he pulled the plate closer to his pelvis. "O…kay, Nessie, I'm, um, going to go now…" he said, standing up stiffly and walking out of the room.

I sat there for a minute, not quite sure what happened, than burst into hysterical laughter, realizing that poor little Jacob Black had gotten a boner picturing me in my pajamas.


	2. Chapter 3&4

**Okay, so here's the dealio. I had written the first five chapters when I was in Canada, so they're going to come quickly, but after chapter five, they'll come slower. Here is chapter three. **

Chapter Three:

Werewolves vs. Vampires

This is a sad sight. You're probably wondering what I'm looking at. I'll tell you.

At this moment, Emmett, Jasper, Jacob and –surprisingly– Leah are sitting in the living room, playing Halo9. Werewolves vs. Vampires tournament. Very depressing. This is what I get to wake up to in the morning. Not promising. I was surprised to see Leah here. I haven't talked to her for a while. When she saw me she put her control down and came over to hug me. I stood there, confused.

"What are you doing here?" I said rudely.

She laughed. It was different from her other laugh. This one was more twittery, higher pitched from the laugh I'd listened to about, well, thirteen years ago. "I'm here for your birthday, silly!" she said, tweaking my nose.

"Oh." I sat down next to Jacob.

"Hey," he said, flashing me a blinding smile and kissing me on the cheek, which was unexpected but it made my heart soar. "Good morning."

I melted from the inside out, than snapped back to reality. "What is she on?" I whispered into his ear.

He turned his head to me, a confused look on his face. "What do you mean?"

I huffed. "Is Leah on drugs or something? She's like… happy."

He laughed, putting his hand around my waist. My heart started beating so hard and fast it felt like it was beating a hole in my chest. "No, she's just… I don't even know what she's like. Maybe it's Maeva, I don't know," he said, shrugging.

I sat up straight. "Who's Maeva?" I asked, looking at him. When I asked this, a tiny little girl came wobbling into the living room. She was short, maybe three years old, with wavy black hair and dark skin, like the rest of the werewolves. She waddled over to Leah, reaching her chubby little hands up to her.

"Mommy," she said, her voice high and baby like. _No surprise there though. _

Leah picked her up and set her on her lap. "Nessie, this is Maeva, my daughter," she said, taking the baby's fat hand and waving it at me. "Here, take my control and play for me, will you?" she said, handing to me.

I shrugged and took the control, getting bored after a while. "Okay, I'm going to have breakfast," I said, tossing my control on the ground.

I walked into the kitchen and was bombarded by Esme. "What do you want to eat?" she said, standing there with her hands on her hips.

"Raisin Bran," I said, pulling the box out of the cabinet. She gave me the 'Oh, please, that's not breakfast. It's pencil shavings and shriveled up grapes' look. "Don't give me that. Just one day of the week I would love to not have a breakfast that could feed a thousand people. I'll have a big breakfast tomorrow, okay?"

She huffed. "Alright," she said than floated out of the room.

I took out a bowl, spoon and the milk and poured the cereal into the bowl, adding the milk. I sat down at the table and started eating when Jacob came in. He sat at the table, sitting on the other side of the corner I was sitting at.

"Hi," I said, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart. "What's up?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, just wanted to sit with you, that's all," he said, smiling at me again. My knees knocked together even though I was sitting. He looked at my cereal bowl and laughed. "Did you know that they go through two thousand pencils to make just one box of this?"

I smirked at him. "Charming," I said, shoving a spoonful of cereal in my mouth and chewing, showing him the brown mush.

His Blackberry buzzed and he held his finger up to me, saying 'one minute' as he picked up. "Jacob Black," he said all business. "Oh, hey, man. What's going on?" he said into the phone. I marveled at him, resting my head in my hands. "Oh, yeah, she's right here." He held his phone out to me. "It's Seth."

My face lit up and I snatched his phone from him and held it to me ear. "Hey, Seth," I said coolly.

"Hey. You weren't picking up your phone so I called Jake. What's going on?" he said, sounding excited.

"Oh, nothing, just being bored and stuff," I said, lifting my feet and setting them in Jacob's lap.

"Uh-huh. Well, I wanted to know what you wanted for your birthday. I'm sure you've out grown wanting a pony, right?"

I laughed. "No, I'm still begging my parents for one," I said sarcastically. "I don't really know what I want. I've got my laptop, iPod and cell phone. I'm not really missing anything. Get me whatever you want but nothing childish."

He sighed. "Well, this rules out the Cabbage Patch Kid idea," he muttered to himself. "And the Barbie idea. You still like Webkinz, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I don't. I've out grown them as well."

"So, you've out grown dolls, but you haven't out grown ponies? What kind of a woman are you?" he said in fake shock. "Nessie, I am appalled. You are a sad excuse for a girl."

I sighed. "I know. It's a huge problem. I'm working on it, trust me. It's not as easy as it looks."

He huffed. "Well, I guess I'm going to have to resort to clothes from Gucci, right? Ugh, unbelievable. Eh, whatever. I'll get you something. Not a pony though."

"You're a terrible person! The one thing I want for my birthday and you won't give it to me!" I said, faking a sob.

He laughed. "Grow up. I'll get you… I don't know, a pair of Gucci boots, okay? Is that a good substitute?" he asked.

I did a fake sniff. "I guess."

He laughed again. "Good. Love you, bye." Than he was gone.

I handed Jacob his Blackberry and pushed my empty bowl away from me. Esme zoomed in and put it in the sink. _Good God. _"So, um, how's it going?"

He shrugged again. "Same old, same old. Nothing new is going on, really. Except, well, of course your birthday. The stupid thing is I still haven't figured out what to get you and your birthday is on Monday," he said, running his hand through his hair.

I smiled. "My party is on Monday, birthday on Sunday," I said, crossing my ankles.

He put his hands on my shins. "Well, I'll give you my present when we go out, if I get it before then," he said, drumming on my legs.

I cocked my head to the side. "What do you mean, when we go out?" I asked, sitting up straighter.

He blushed slightly. "Will you go out with me on Sunday night?"

I sat there for a minute, stunned, but than I smiled.

_**Sunday Night… **_

"Rosalie, I can't do this," I said, looking at her through the mirror.

She stood up and came up behind me. "Here, give it to me," she said, taking the mascara from me. I turned toward her and she started putting it on for me. "There." She laughed at me when I turned to the mirror and tried to put on lip gloss. "God, Nessie, you're just going on a date. You're shaking like you're about to jump off the Empire State building," she said, turning me toward her again and putting on my lip gloss for me.

"Rose, I've had a crush on the guy ever since I was six," I tried to say. "Of course I'm going to be nervous."

Alice came into the bathroom and took my hand. "Don't be. You do fantastic," she said, pulling me out into my room. She had my iPod playing 'The Fame' and it was on the song Paparazzi. _Very appropriate_. "Here, put these on." She shoved a pair of dark skinny jeans at me.

"Jeans? Alice, I'm going on a date with him," I said, taking off my sweatpants and putting the jeans on.

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. I saw you wearing these so put them on and this too," she said, throwing a faded pink silk tank top with lace straps and trim around the hem and top. I pulled it on and looked at myself in the mirror.

"And I suppose I'm going to get a pole to dance on as well," I said, spinning around.

Alice scoffed. "You're so much like your father when it comes to clothes. You look sexy!" she said, handing me a pair of silver stilettos which had open toes and two straps that wrapped around your leg and tied at the back.

"Where did you acquire these?" I said, holding them up in front of my face as if I was seeing them wrong.

"I wore them to prom when you mom first came to Forks," Rosalie said, smiling at them fondly. "I thought you might want them, for luck, you know."

I shrugged and sat down on my desk chair, slipping my foot into one of them and wrapping the straps around my leg. When I pulled one leg of the jeans down over my foot, only my toes and the thin silver foot strap showed. I did the other one and stood up, looking at myself in the mirror again. "You're right, Alice. Sexy, if I do say so myself."

"I told you! Now, we have to do something with your hair." She dragged my back into my bathroom and pushed me down into the salon chair. "Okay, something simple, like a half ponytail only in a loose braid," she said, gathering half my hair in her hands and separating it into three parts. She started singing along with Paparazzi as she braided my hair.

"Baby you'll be famous, chase you down until you love me, papa paparazzi," she sang, shaking her hips back and forth. "M'kay. I'm done and you're all set for your date."

"Jeez, you look twenty-five, not eighteen. Even _I'm _jealous," Rosalie said, looking at me.

I sighed and jumped from the chair, walking out into my room. I opened my door calmly and walked down the hall and down to the spiral staircase that lead down to the living room. The rest of the family was sitting there. Right when I stepped on the floor Dad opened his mouth, blowing my pride on my outfit.

"What in God's name are you wearing Nessie?" he said, sitting up straight and nearly knocking Mom off his lap. "That shirt… It's not even a shirt. I don't know what it is. I-" Rosalie walked by him, whacking him on the back of the head. "Rosalie, shut up. Nessie, go change."

I shook my head, looking elsewhere so he didn't over power me with his creepy stare. "I don't want to."

He huffed. "Too flipping bad-"

"Edward!" Mom said, hitting his shoulder. "Be quiet." She turned toward me. "Renesmee, you look gorgeous. That outfit is fine," she said, pinching Dad's arm when he started to protest.

There was a knock on the door and Carlisle got up to answer it. "Hello, Jacob," I heard him say in the other room. "Come on in."

My breath caught and I squeezed Alice's hand. "Breathe. Don't forget, you do fantastic," she whispered in my ear.

Jacob came walking into the living room wearing jeans too and a light blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up messily to his elbows. He had on back Converse and he smiled broadly when he saw me. "Okay, are you ready to go?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

I nodded and walked over to him. We were about to leave when Mom spoke. "Uh, Jake, have her back by eleven. We all have our first day tomorrow and I want her to be home early."

Jake saluted her. "Noted and understood, ma'am," he said, taking my hand and leading me out to the garage. "You're mother leant me her Ferrari," he said, opening the door for me.

I smiled. "What happened to the Guardian?" I said, sliding in.

He wrinkled his nose, climbing into the drivers' seat. "Pfft! The Guardian wouldn't suffice for a date," he said sarcastically. "I asked if I could use this because it's a great car." He looked at me. "So my darling, would you like to know what we're doing?"

_My darling…Ah, so sweet._ I shook my head. "No I don't," I said, tucking a wisp of hair behind my ear.

"Okay, than just sit tight because we're going to push one fifty, sooo, yeah," he said, turning onto the road and tearing away so the tired made that 'screech' noise on the asphalt.  
~*~

Chapter Four:

The First Date… Oh, God!

"Well, this is unexpected," I said, sitting down on the blanket Jake had just laid out. "But, it's nice. I like it."

He smiled. "I know, I'm genius," he said, putting a basket in front of me. Opened it, he pulled out a glass milk bottle that was actually filled with iced tea. "Want some?"

"Sure," I said, reaching into the basket and bringing out two glasses. I handed one to him and he poured some for me and some for him.

He held his glass up to me. "A toast to… you."

I smiled. "A toast to us," I said, clinking my glass against his.

We both took a sip and looked out to the water. He'd taken me to Gyson Lake and the sun was just starting to set, casting the rainbow colors on the water. It was so beautiful. I felt him scoot closer to me and wrap his arm around my waist. I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed, smiling to myself.

"Are you hungry?" he said, taking my hand. My stomach answered his question. "Okay, would you like mushroom ravioli or chicken parmesan?" he said, taking out two Tupperware containers.

I smiled at him. "Mushroom ravioli," I said, taking the container from him.

He nodded. "Good, 'cause I wanted this." I opened the lid and the most amazing smell wafted up to my nose. "I hope you like it. Took me all day to cook both of these things. Leah was the tester, but she was more like that guy on Hell's Kitchen. You know the one that yells and everybody and says their food tastes bad even if it doesn't?" I nodded. "Try it, and if you don't like it, tell me right away and I'll eat it and you can have this one."

I took a fork out of the basket and speared a mushroom, taking a small bite out of it. "It's good. I really like it," I said, taking a bigger bite. And in fact it was good. I was beginning to doubt if he actually cooked it himself. Jacob can't cook except for Jell-o and even then he doesn't really make it right.

We ate in silence for a minute then he turned his head to me, holding out his fork that had a little piece of chicken and spaghetti on it. I smiled and opened my mouth toward the fork and he stuck it in my mouth. It was good, like really good. I wasn't arguing with that fact. "You cooked this yourself, you say?" I said, looking up at him.

"Yes, all myself. No cooking help from anyone. Leah just ate," he said, twisting spaghetti around on his fork.

When we finished eating, he produced a mini cake like the ones you get at the supermarket that are, like, six inches in diameter. There were sugar letters on it reading 'Happy B Day Nessie!' He stuck a candle in the cake and lit it. "Happy birthday, my darling" he said, kissing me full on the mouth. My eyes fluttered in those ten seconds of bliss until he pulled away. "Blow out the candle and make a wish."

I did what he told me to. He kissed me again, longer this time. "Hey," I said, pretending to realize something. "My wish came true!"

He laughed. "Do you want some of your mini birthday cake?" he said, holding the cake to me with two different forks in his hand. I nodded. "Okay, here." He handed me a fork and we started eating the cake. After about three minutes, he swatted at something. A second later he held his arm up to my line if vision. "Look," he said, pointing to the mosquito on his arm. "Jasper turned into a bug! Hi, Jasper!" He waved to the mosquito before killing it. "Sorry, Jasper!"

I sat there for a second, than burst out laughing. I had to put the cake down; I was falling backwards and clutching my stomach. After laughing for five straight minutes I sat up and looked at him, tears running down my cheeks. "Ah, that's funny," I managed to say.

He smiled at me. "I know, I'm hilarious, aren't I?" I smiled at him again. "Oh, you're going to be proud of me," he said, pointing to himself.

I cocked my head to the side. "When am I ever proud of you? Why would I be proud of you?"

He reached into the basket, producing a blue velvet box the size of my face. "I got your birthday present," he said, handing the box to me.

I opened it and gasped. Inside was a necklace which had sapphires and diamonds on it, both gems shaped in wire that was just breathtaking. They looked like delicate fans on a chain. There were matching earrings too. "Jacob, this is too much. I can't accept this. It must have cost a fortune," I said handing the box back to him.

He took the necklace off and fastened it around my neck. The gems were heavy and cold. "It didn't cost anything at all. Well, maybe constant pleading with my dad, but no money cost," he said, running his finger along the stones.

"What do you mean, 'constant pleading with your dad'?" I said, doing finger quotations.

He sighed. "Before I say this, you're not allowed to give it back to me. IT was a birthday gift, okay?" I nodded my head. "It was my mom's. She gave one thing to everybody when she died and I got this necklace except Billy said he wasn't going to give it to me until I acted responsibly, so I said that I was going to give it to you as a birthday present and apparently that was good enough for him. Except I didn't say it was for you until I realized I was stupid enough to not have said that in the first place. So I spent about five hours begging my dad until I got the idea to say it was for you for your birthday."

When he finished, he took a big breath and sighed. I opened my eyes wide and shook my head, baffled. "Jeez, Jacob, this is, I don't even know what this is. How mad was Billy when you were asking?"

He laughed once. "Pretty mad. He went into the kitchen once and I thought he was getting a knife. I'm not kidding. I was afraid for my life. In the end he just got beer."

I laughed, tracing my finger over the earrings. "Wow, Jacob, these are beautiful. I can't believe you trust me enough to give me your mother's things," I said, looking at him.

He shrugged, pushing my hair out of my face. "It's not a problem. It was worth it," he said, looking me deep in the eyes. I thought for a second he was going to kiss me again, but he spoke instead. "Nessie, I-" His phone rang, cutting him off. "Hang on. Jacob Black." There was a bit of talking than he hung up the phone without saying anything. "Your parents want you home. Apparently it's after eleven."

We both stood up and walked to the Ferrari, holding hands. I was in total bliss while we road back, just sitting and not talking. When we got home, everyone was waiting for us in the family room. Everyone, except Jasper. That's the first thing I asked.

"Where's Jasper?" I said, winding my fingers around Jacob's.

Dad frowned. "I don't know, actually. He went hunting yesterday but hasn't come back," he said, shrugging.

Jacob gasped, shocked. "Oh, my God." He turned to me. "Nessie, I killed Jasper!" he said, letting his had fall on my shoulder and pretending to cry. "What am I going to do! Alice, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to," he sniffed, looking at her.

Rosalie laughed. "What are you talking about?"

I smiled. "There was this mosquito and Jacob said it was Jasper, than he killed it," I said, rubbing Jacob's back mockingly. "He's very upset about it, let's not focus on it."

Everyone looked at us for a second than they all started laughing. It was loud having the women's soft laughter mixing with the men's booming laughter. I plugged my ears. "What's funny?" someone said.

I turned. It was Jasper. "Oh, thank God, you're alive!" I said, throwing my arms around his waist.

He stroked my hair. "What?" he whispered to everyone else.

"Forget about it, Jasper. It's nothing," Dad said. "Nessie, I think you should be getting to bed?" It was more of a demand instead of a question. "We all have school tomorrow and we're not going to be late on our first day."

I saluted him like Jacob saluted Mom than walked around the room hugging everyone and saying good night. I ended up back at Jacob and he pulled me into him, placing his lips on mine. I clenched my hands, trying to stop them from touching his face or any other body part for that matter. I heard someone clear their throat but that didn't seem to bother him. After another minute, Dad broke the fabulousness.

"Renesmee, bed," he said sternly.

Jacob stood up straight making his face serious and clearing his throat. "Um, have a good nights' sleep, Nessie," he said, holding his hand out to me.

I laughed and tried to keep my face as serious as his. "Good night, Jacob. Thank you," I said, walking up the stairs.

I walked into my room and walked over to my iPod, pressing play. It was still on 'The Fame', and Alice had continued onto the song Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say). I pulled off my clothes, swinging my hips back and forth as I sang along. "Boy, we've had a real good time and I wish you the best on your way, eh. I didn't mean to hurt you. I never thought we'd fall out of place, eh."

I was still singing the song when I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth and take off my make-up when someone knocked on the door and came in. "Oh, hey, Jasper," I said, wiping the removal pad under my eyelid, forgetting I was only in my underwear and bra. "What's up?"

He leaned against the edge of the sink. "Nessie, I know we've never really had a strong relationship because I avoid you for certain… smells and such," he said quietly. I nodded. "And… I was wondering, since we're starting school together and such; I was wondering if we could do something about that. I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to, I don't want you to do something you don't want to do."

I looked at him, nearly crying. "Jasper, you're my uncle and, well, I know we've never been as close as Emmett and I have. I've seen it. You don't have to say 'We don't have to if you don't want to'," I said, bending my fingers in the air. "You're so stupid."

I hugged him, letting my tears fall. He hugged me back and his hands were icy cold on my bare back. I could practically feel him smiling. "Okay, than I'll talk to you later, Ness," he said, walking out of the bathroom.

"Night, Jasper. I love you," I said, smiling. He turned, a shocked look on his face. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, love you, too." Than he walked out, shutting the door behind him. I went back to taking my make-up off and when I did, I turned my music off and crawled into my bed after I'd pulled a pair of sweatpants on as well as Jacob's favorite shirt. Don't worry, I didn't steal it. I'm only borrowing it for, well, ever.

I tossed and turned there for twenty minutes before I pushed my covers back and grabbed the blanket off the end off of my bed. I walked over to my window and pushed it open, walking out onto my balcony. I sat in on of the lounge chairs, wrapping the blanket around me. I watched Jacob's house, seeing him turn different lights on and off. Finally, after twenty minutes of constant flicking and flashing, his whole house went dark.


	3. Chapter 5&6

Chapter Five:

First Day of Hell. Not School.

"Nessie, what are you doing out here?" Mom said, shaking my shoulder.

I opened my eyes and looked around. I was still on the balcony, the silk blanket wrapped around my shoulder. "Oh, I was… um… stargazing?" I said, rubbing my eyes and looking up at her.

She put her hands on her hips. "Well, fine. Get up and get dressed. We have to leave in a half hour, okay?"

I got up from the chair and took the blanket into my room, dropping it on the floor as I walked into my closet. I pulled a Chanel denim mini skirt off one of my racks and paired it with a brown shirt that said _Deal with The Beauty On Your Own Terms_ in pink with a lip stick kiss on the bottom. After pulling my hair into a ponytail and putting on mascara, barely noticeable pink eye shadow and clear lip gloss, I walked down the hall and to the stairs. I ran into Emmett on the way. He gave me the look. The look that says 'Damn!'

"Damn!" he said, getting close to me. "Jeez, Nessie. If you weren't my niece… well, I'd dump Rosalie."

I rolled my eyes, scoffed and pushed him down the stairs. He fell onto the floor, smiling. "Touché," he said, getting up and shaking my hand.

I smirked at him and walked into the kitchen. Esme was bustling around, making food. I rolled my eyes again. "Once again, Esme, I don't need a breakfast that could feed a thousand people," I said, snatching a piece of bacon out of the pan.

She shook her head. "Oh, goodness, I just have so much I have to do. I need to get things for your party and your present, oh my, this day is going to be stressful." She looked at me. "Where did you get that necklace?" she asked, calmer and quieter.

I touched my neck. "Oh, I forgot I had this on. Jacob gave it to me, for my birthday?" I said, sitting at the kitchen table.

"Jacob gave you what for your birthday?" someone said from behind me.

I froze, reaching back and taking their hand off my shoulder. The touch was warm and unfamiliar. I looked at Esme who was smiling. Standing up, I looked behind me, squealing when I saw Seth. "Oh, my God!" I said, throwing my arms around his waist. "When did you get here?"

He laughed in my ear. "Five minutes ago," he said, pulling me back to look at me. "Nessie, you look, wow."

I blushed, tucking my hair behind one ear. "Thanks, Seth," I said, embarrassed. "That's sweet."

We sat down at the table together. "So, are you excited for your first ever day of school?" he asked, making small talk. I hate small talk.

"No, I'm not. School is just child labor and stupidity. No offence," I said, remembering he worked at Keene State College in New Hampshire. "It makes people tired all the time and they have to do work, like, twenty-four seven. Most people could care less about school and more about going out and having fun and most of the time, people don't even do their homework and projects but they pass anyway because the teachers could care less about their students and it's all a big waste for everyone who goes and works at said school."

He laughed. "Gee, thanks so much for supporting me and my job," he said, playfully nudging my chin with his fist. "Makes me feel loved, Nessie. Thank you oh so very much." I laughed, stabbing my fork into the sausage on the plate Esme had just put in front of me. "I have your birthday present if you want to see it," he said, reaching behind him to hand me a bag with Gucci scrolled across the front. I took it from him. "I told you I'd get you Gucci boots, didn't I?"

I opened my mouth to say something but than reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of brown suede knee high boots with gold heels and a chain of gold links sewn to the outside. "Seth, they're great," I said, unzipping them and putting them on. "I'll wear them to school today, okay?"

"I think not," I heard Dad say from behind me.

I stood up, clutching the boots to my chest. "Why not? Dad, you never let me anything I want with out Mom telling you to let me or Mom interfering in some way, and I have to tell you right now, it's getting frigging annoying. Having someone control you all the time and not let you experience things? Jeez, Dad, you might as well lock me in the basement or something and never let me see light again because that's sure as hell what it feels like!" I screamed at him, bending down and shoving my feet into the boots. "These are my shoes, these are my feet and this is my life." I clasped his head between my hands. "Let me live it."

He opened his mouth. "What?" he said, cocking his head to the side.

I smiled. "Dad, let me live my life the way I want to, okay?" He nodded. "Good."

_**School… **_

We were all standing in the office, me, my family and Jacob. Before we had walked into the school Dad had given us last names. "As always, Jasper and Rosalie are Hales. Bella, you're going to be a Swan, along with Emmett and Alice."

Emmett let his head fall backwards onto the side of the Wrangler. "Are you kidding me, Edward? I'm Emmett Swan?"

Dad nodded. "It's the only thing that would have worked because Bella can't be a Cullen if she's dating me, can she? Plus you all have darker hair than the rest of us, so, yeah." He turned to me. "You and I are Cullens. You're my little sister," he said, a slightly pained look on his face. "And Jacob, you're still who you normally are."

We all started walking through the parking lot and you could hear the kids talking about us.

"Do you see that guy?" one girl asked her friend. "The lanky one with bronze hair. What I wouldn't do to run my hands through it."

I nearly gagged. It was hard to believe people were talking about my family in this way. We walked by a bunch of guys. One of them looked at me. "Check out the babe in the brown boots. Man, I'd tap that ass," he said, nudging one of his friends arms.

His friend spoke. "Yeah, she's nice."

I flipped my hair over my shoulder and gave them a seductive stare before winding my arm around Jacob's waist. They opened their mouths in awe, and I smirked at them. I heard other people talking about my mom and aunts and a few girls whispering about Emmett and Jasper. A few people even started following us, some girls purposefully walking quickly past Emmett, brushing his arm than running back to their friends, giggling and letting them touch their shoulder or book bag. Even a guy walked past me and smacked my butt. When I looked back to see who it did it, it was the first guy who had talked about me.

I smiled with pleasure when Jacob slid his hand into the back pocket of my skirt. Guys whistled and yelled, 'Grab me a piece of that!'

"Assholes," Jacob grumbled and I rested my head on his chest as we strode into the main office.

Dad marched right up to the front desk. "This is our first day," he said, smiling down at the woman who was sitting behind the desk.

"Of course, your names please?"

Dad smiled even bigger. "Edward and Renesmee Cullen, Rosalie and Jasper Hale, Jacob Black and Emmett, Alice and Bella Swan. We're a big family."

The secretary smiled. "Yes, I see that. One moment. I'll be right back with your schedules and maps." She scuttled to the back and came back to the office in a flash, handing Dad a pile of papers. "Have a nice first day."

He tapped the top of the desk once. "Thank you, miss."

Dad walked back to us and started handing out the schedules. When I got mine, Jacob instantly compared ours. "Wow, we have almost all the same classes together," he said, looking closely at my paper.

Emmett leaned down and whispered a little "You're welcome," in my ear. I looked up at him, raising my eyebrows. "Just one of my presents to you," he said before burying Rosalie in a kiss so they could go to their classes.

I stood there for a minute, looking at Jacob's schedule. The first class that I had didn't have him in it. I frowned. "I'll see you second period, don't worry," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing me. I felt him slip something into my bag before he walked off down the hall.

I looked at the paper in my hands and saw that my first class, Advanced Algebra was in room 137, all the way at the other end of the school. I smirked and walked down the hall slowly, trying to take my time. When I got to the room, the class had already started and the door was closed. I knocked and someone waved me in. I'm guessing he was the teacher. "Hi, I'm sorry I'm late," I said as I walked in.

The balding teacher looked at me. "Ah, you must be Renesmee?" I nodded. "Welcome to Advanced Algebra. The only seat left is the one next to Kyle," he said, extending his arm to point to a boy in the middle row of the room.

My eyes widened when I saw that it was the guy in the parking lot who had smacked my butt. I nodded once, walking over to the chair next to his. We were sharing a table and when I got close enough to sit in the chair he propped his feet up on it. I put my Vera Bradley shoulder bag that was filled with my binders and books on the table after I shoved his stuff to the side. "Yeah, hi, Kyle was it?" He nodded in response, smiling stupidly at me. "Right, Kyle, get your feet off my chair or else," I snapped, giving him my worst glare.

He smirked. "Or else what?" he said, testing my patients.

I leaned down so we were no less than two inches apart. "Or I'll smack you so hard I'll kill your father." He laughed once quietly but raised his hands in the air like he was innocent and took his feet off my chair. I sat down and pulled out my Advanced Algebra binder. I opened it and a little piece of pink paper fell out. It had 'Miss Renesmee' scrolled across the top in Jacob's semi-sloppy handwriting. I opened it. 'Hey, Nessie. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday since I won't be in the class that you'll be in when it's literally time for you to turn thirteen. So, happy thirteenth birthday darling! Love you, Jacob.' On the bottom of the note was a tiny little drawing of a cake with thirteen little lines coming out of the top. I think they were supposed to be candles.

I smiled and folded it again, sliding it into my back pocket. "So, we'll be going a small essay on what you all think you know about algebra so turn to the person next to you and do al little brain storming," Mr. Johnson said, clapping his hands together once.

I rolled my eyes but turned toward Kyle. He smiled at me again in that stupid way. "So, what was your name? Renesmee?" he said, barely able to run his fingers through his spiky silver blonde hair.

I nodded. "Everybody calls me Nessie, though," I snapped, not in the mood for flirting with this jackass.

He smiled even bigger at me. "Than I'll call you Renesmee," he said smugly.

I glared at him. "Not if you want to live you won't. The only people I allow to call me Renesmee are my parents and my boyfriend, Jacob, both of which you are neither so don't call me that unless my some miracle you become either my father or mother."

He looked at his feet that back up at me. "What about by some miracle I become your boyfriend?"

I picked up my pencil and started doing a rough draft of my essay. "That'll never happen," I said coolly. I felt him staring at me. I whipped my head to look at him. "What? You think that you could be my boyfriend?"

He raised his eyebrows up and down. "It could happen."  
~*~

I walked out of my fourth period class and made my way to my locker. I did my combination and opened it, dumping my books into it. I pulled my water bottle out of the top shelf and popped the cap open, the taste of grizzly bear flowing into my mouth. I sighed and closed my locker. I jumped a foot when I saw Kyle standing behind the door. "What the hell?" I said, running my hand through my hair.

He did a crooked smile at me. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out on a date with me," he said, dramatically getting down on one knee.

I looked down at him, raising my eyebrows. "Were you not listening during algebra?" I said, stepping around him. I heard him get up and run after me. "I'm not going out with you."

He ran in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders. I wrenched away. "Look, Renesmee, I like you. You're different from the other girls here. You're pissy and bossy and you're one of the few people here who aren't drooling over me," he said, sliding his hands down to my mine.

I put my hair up in a ponytail just as an excuse for making him let go. "So, that makes you want to go out with me? Because I don't want to go out with you?" I said, taking a swig from my water bottle. He nodded. I smirked. "Not gonna happen."

I walked around him again and he caught my elbow so I turned around. "How about this. Since I know you have a boyfriend, once you become available –if you ever do– could we go out?"

I sighed. "Fine," I said, having strong feelings about staying with Jacob forever.

He let go of my hand and I started to walk away. "I'll be waiting for you!" he called out behind me.

I shook my head to myself, walking toward the cafeteria to have lunch with my family.  
~*~

Chapter Six:

Lunch is crap, so is my family.

I sat there, stabbing and re-stabbing the blob of whatever the freaky lunch lady had dished onto my tray. It looked like meatloaf, but I wasn't sure. By now it was brown goop. I also possessed some things that looked like carrots –more like stubby orange fingers– and mashed potatoes –actually dog barf– but I wasn't in the mood to eat. I stuck to sipping at my water bottle, but what was really running through my mind was how much of a jackass that Kyle guy was. I mean how dare he just walk up to me and expect me to go out with him like that, especially when I have a relationship with Jake.

"Who's Kyle?" Dad asked me, snapping me out of my pissy zone.

I looked at him dumbly. "Wha-?"

He laughed. "I said, who's Kyle?"

I sighed. "This doink in my algebra class who asked me out even though he knew very well that I didn't want to go out with him and that I was with Jacob," I said, going back to picking at me food.

"Oh, well, honey I wouldn't consider yourself with him until he asks you to be."

I stabbed a carrot/finger off my tray and pointed it at him. "Dad, what happened to letting me live my life?" I said, moving the fork back and forth like I was getting up the courage to stab something.

"Nothing, it's just that-"

I cut him off. "Then don't say anything more about me being with Jacob unless you want me to force feed you this… thing on my fork," I said, moving it closer to his face.

He turned to Mom and started talking to her. I smiled, happy to have silence again until Rosalie and Alice plopped themselves in front of me and started jabbering to me at the same time.

"So, Rosalie was saying that, for your birthday party-"

"Alice said that it wasn't the best idea in the world-"

"She suggested that maybe we could all have a little party in the living room-"

"But I said that it would make you happier because you said that you didn't really want a big party-"

I held my hands up, making them go silent. "You guys can do what ever you want, okay? Like Mom, I want so part in it, alright?" I said, getting slightly annoyed at everybody.

They both frowned, but looked down at their magazines, soon showing each other the news pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes and Prada dresses. I looked down at my shoes, watching the light reflect off of the gold heels. I sighed, sort of beginning to wish that I never had to go to school. Life at home was much more simple when I didn't have to deal with people obsessing over me. And my family. I wasn't used to being able to hear people saying stuff like 'The big guy is in my science class. Just as a joke, he turned on the Bunsen burner and lit a pencil on fire. He claimed he was bored when the teacher asked what he thought he was doing. I nearly crapped my pants when he looked at me and winked.'

I sighed when Emmett and Jasper came strutting up to the table. I could tell they were going to go off about something. Emmett slammed his hand down on the table and I heard a slight 'crack.' "Jazz and I are going out for sports."

Dad snapped his head over to them and Rosalie and Alice jumped up to hug them. Rosalie laughed seductively at Emmett. "Yeah, I want to see you in a football uniform, Emmett," he said, nibbling at his earlobe.

Jasper stood up straight from kissing Alice on the head. "We thought football, Rose. You read out minds," he said laughing.

Dad laughed stiffly. "You guys are nuts. You can't go out for sports," he said, sounding like a dad to them as well.

Emmett smirked at him. "Sure we can. We figured it all out in study hall. If we do foot ball, we can throw the ball lightly and run slowly so we can still play but also make our team win when we want to," he said smugly.

Dad laughed again, more amused this time. "Yeah, right. That's just as good an idea as walking out into the sunlight where there are millions of people around."

"Well, you did," Jasper said, smiling slightly. I choked back a laugh. "So, why can't we do something that we actually _can _do. We can tone down our strength. Be a father to Nessie, not to us."

That got Dad pissed. He sat there, practically seething. His jaw was clenched and his hands were balled up into tight fists. I bet that if he was wearing his wedding ring, he'd be bending it into shapes it should never be in. I tried to hold in a laugh again when I saw his face after he looked at me, knowing exactly what I was thinking. _Come on, Daddy. This is the first time I know of that they've ever wanted to go out for sports. If it doesn't work than, I'll make them stop. Come on, _I thought, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Since when do you care so much about what they do or don't do?" he snapped.

I glared at him. "Since this is a free country, they're my uncles, I care about them and you have no right to control what they do or don't do," I said, mimicking him when I said do or don't do.

He was about to say something but he closed his mouth than waved off Emmett and Jasper, telling them to do what they please.

"Yea!" Rosalie and Alice squealed at the same time.

Jasper and Emmett smiled, knowing they defeated Dad once again and sat down, talking to their spouses about the football team. I looked around the cafeteria, annoyed that Jake wasn't here yet. _Where is he? _I thought, getting more pissed off than annoyed.

"He's coming," Dad said, taking my water bottle and drinking from it.

I looked at him, surprised. "Uh, hello? That's mine," I said, taking it back.

He looked at me. "Come on, Nessie. I'm dying of thirst here," he said, pointing to his blackening eyes. I sighed and handed him my water bottle.

I felt someone put their hands over my eyes and I put mine over theirs, taking them off. "Jake, stop," I said, looking up to see him towering over me, smiling.

"Hey, beautiful," he said, sitting down on one of the chairs next to me and kissing my cheek. I instantly felt more relaxed. "Sorry I'm late. I couldn't find my science teacher. She wanted me to check in with her after class but I guess she forgot and left the room afterwards. I had to track her down and then I had to go to lunch but couldn't get my locker open."

I smiled at him and rested my head on his shoulder. "It's okay, don't worry about it," I said, drinking the last of what was in my water bottle, glaring at Dad from drinking more than three fourths of it. "So, how were your first classes, besides the ones we had together?"

He shrugged. "They're okay I guess. There's this one guy in my English class, Kyle, he's so funny." I shot up from leaning against him, looking him in the eye. "He was doing all this stuff behind the teachers back and he even got up from his seat and stood behind her while she was writing something on the board and sat back down when ever she turned around. It was so funny," he said, laughing as he told me the story.

I nodded slowly. "Really?" I said, trying to sound amused. Jacob nodded. "That is fascinating."

Everybody was silent for a few minutes than a short girl with light brown hair walked over and tapped Jasper on the shoulder. He turned. "Hi," she said, turning red.

"Hello," he said politely but confused.

She laughed nervously. "Um, I was wondering if, well, if you wanted to go with me to the masquerade dance that's coming up this weekend," she asked, lightly kicking her foot back and forth on the floor.

Alice turned her torso toward the girl. "Hi, um, excuse me. That's my boyfriend," she said, slightly getting into the girl's face.

The girl looked at Alice. "I wasn't talking to you, was I?" she snapped. "I was talking to Jasper, so why don't you stay out of it?"

I mouth fell open. Jasper stood up, coming to be a whole three feet taller than her. "I don't even know who you are and when you talk to my girlfriend like that you can forget even looking at me again, okay?" he said, glaring down at her.

She backed away a few paces. "I'm sorry, I just thought…"

Emmett stood up next to Jasper and Dad joined him shortly afterward, followed by the rest of us. I stood in front of Jasper, Rosalie on my right and Mom on my left. We must have looked really creepy to her and the others being drawn toward the ruckus. I smiled slyly at the girl. "I suggest leaving before Jasper boils over," I said calmly, giving her a sympathetic look. She nodded once and shuffled away, shoving her hands into the pockets of her baggy jeans.

We all sat back down. "I feel bad," Jasper said, pushing his food away and standing up.

"Where are you going?" Rosalie said, kicking her legs up on what used to be her chair as she was now sitting on Emmett's lap.

Jasper turned around and looked at her. "Going to apologize," he said, walking over to the girl's table. When he got there, she looked up from her huge book. She leaned away as he knelt down to her height. "Hey, listen, I'm sorry about what happened over there."

She smiled slightly. "It's okay," she said, pushing her hair out of her face. "I shouldn't have acted that way toward your girlfriend."

Jasper smiled. "Well, um, what's your name?"

"Annie," she said. "It stands for Athena."

Jasper nodded. "Well, Annie, why don't you ask…." He started scanning the cafeteria. "Why don't you ask him to the dance," he said, pointing to the one guy I was hoping he would point to.

She looked at Kyle, raising her eyebrows. "Kyle?" she said, baffled.

He nodded. "Yeah, why not? He's… nice looking." Everyone at our table burst out laughing and Jasper gave us the death glare. I bit my bottom lip and smiled, winking at Annie.

She sighed. "Well I guess I could try asking him to go," she said peering at him. "Thanks."

He stuck his hand out to her and she shook it, jumping at how cold it was. "I'll talk to you later," he said, standing up and walking back to our table. We all clapped for him, cheering and whistling sarcastically. "Shut up," he said, sitting back down next to Alice.

I looked over at Annie and she was looking at Kyle. She looked at me and I nodded m head to him. She raised one eyebrow than pointed to herself than Kyle mouthing 'should I?' as she did so. I nodded. Annie took a breath in and let it out heavily, shaking her head. I let is go with a shrug and let her get back to her book. I looked over at Jasper and Alice. They were staring lovingly at each other and I envied them for being so in love with each other. Jacob and I weren't even officially together yet. Same with Rosalie and Emmett. They were sitting there with their foreheads pressed together and a hand on each of their necks. Rosalie was staring him in the eyes and Emmett was staring back, giving her the look she was expecting. Even Mom and Dad were like that, both of them sitting next to each other with his arm around her waist and her arm resting on his shoulder, twisting his hair in her fingers.

I sighed and propped my head up on my hand, wishing Jacob would realize I wanted to be his official girlfriend. Not just the girl he went out with and calls beautiful. I want to be known as Jacob's girlfriend, despite what I said to Kyle and Dad. "God, my family is crap," I muttered to myself, blushing when everyone turned their attention to me, confused and shocked looks on their faces.

**I forgot to say this before, but you can see Nessie's necklace on my profile. Thanks for reading. Please R&R! **


	4. Chapter 7&8

Chapter Seven:

My Thirteenth Birthday Party; Mission Impossible Style

"I am not wearing this. Not now, not in a million years," I said to Alice, throwing the clothes back at her.

She huffed at me. "Come on, Nessie. It's not that bad," she said, letting the leather pants unfold and fall in front of me. "The outfit looks good, trust me."

Rosalie walked in wearing a black strapless dress that stopped in the middle of her thighs. On the sides, near the curves of her stomach were two slits on each side, revealing her pale skin. Her boots were amazing though. They were a dull leather material and they went over her knees, stopping an inch before her dress began. She had a pair of ray bans on her head, holding back her hair. "Don't worry, I already talked to Edward. He's fine with it and he's dressing like the rest of us, too."

I snorted. "Yeah, right," I said, pulling the leather pants over my legs. They were like leggings, but they were leather. Alice tossed me a black sports bra. I rolled my eyes but turned around and put it on. "Al, what are you wearing?" I felt my hair move slightly and I stun on my heels to see Alice standing there in something that looked like a black silk nightie and black open toed high heels. "Nice," I said, zipping up the knee high suede boots on my bed. I looked in the mirror and smiled. "Okay, let's go."

We walked down the hall and down the stairs. The furniture was gone and there were white Christmas lights hung around the ceiling and the trees outside. I looked down at Alice and she gave me a smug shrug, walking down to her iPod speakers and playing the Mission Impossible theme song.

As if on cue, Mom, Esme and the guys walked into the living room, wearing all black. Mom was wearing leather Capri's, and a black camisole with a pair of black Converse. Esme had a black denim mini skirt on and a leather vest on that was zipped up only to the end of her cleavage line with plain patent leather heels on. Carlisle, Dad, Emmett and Jasper were all wearing the same thing; P.F. flyers, black jeans, black t-shirts and leather biker jackets with those leather gloves without fingers.

I laughed seeing them all walk into the room in fake slow motion, slowly moving their legs and swinging their arms over exaggeratedly, serious looks on their faces and ray bans on as if they were spies. Jasper slowly nodded his head once to us and we joined them, sliding on ray bans too. I thought this was a little much but was enjoying every second as we slowly walked outside to see all of the vampires and werewolves we knew. I pinched Alice's arm and she laughed.

"You said it wasn't going to be a big party," I snarled, looking down at her.

She looked up at me with an angelic face. "Come on, Nessie. It's me," she said, walking over to dance with Rosalie, Esme, Leah and Mom.

I stood there awkwardly for a minute before Jacob came strutting over to me. "Happy birthday sexy," he said, burying me in a huge kiss.

I pulled away so I could see what he was wearing. It was a Mission Impossible party for God's sake. I raised my eyebrows when I saw what was wearing. Like Dad and Jasper, he was wearing a black t-shirt with a leather jacket over it and black jeans. I felt a shiver go up my spine and what I really wanted to do was take his clothes off and have him all to myself. I shook my head, remembering that Dad could easily see what I wanted to do.

He looked at me seductively. "This party is insane," he said, laughing.

"Alice is a genius," Alice said, coming up behind Jacob and hugging his arm. "So, Ness, what do you think?"

I looked at her, trying to hide a smile. "It's great and I love my outfit," I said, giving her a hug.

Jacob laughed. "So do I," he said, slipping his arm around my waist.

I looked up at him and laughed, standing up on my toes to press my lips against his. Someone cleared their throat and I pulled away to look Dad dead in the eye. I raised one eyebrow at him and narrowed my eyes. "You look beautiful, Nessie," was all he said, kissing my forehead and giving me a quick hug before sauntering over to Mom.

"That was weird," Jacob said before kissing me again. I really don't think I could have been any happier than I was at that moment. "Hey, Nessie? Can I ask you a question?" I looked up at him and nodded. "Will… you be my girlfriend?" I answered his question with a huge kiss. "So, can I ask you another question?"

"Anything at all," I said, hugging him and looking up at him.

He sighed. "Will you go with me to the masquerade dance that the Annie chick was talking about?"

I laughed out loud, remembering the weird first lunch I had. "Sure." He smiled than started getting down low to the ground, pretending to sneak around like a secret agent. I laughed as he pulled me down with him. We crawled across the floor and ran into a walker. I looked up and smiled. "Claire!" I said, jumping up and giving her a light hug. "How are you?"

She smiled. "I'm okay. I'm still recovering from the surgery but I'll be okay," she said, leaning against the front of the walker. I loved how carefree she went with a plain black t-shirt, loose black skinny jeans and Converse. "But, what I don't get is why everybody has to wear black."

I followed the line of scars from her temple, down her cheek, over her jaw line, and down her neck to her collar bone. "It's a Mission Impossible party," I said, helping her sit down in a chair and sitting next to her. "So, how's Quil?"

Her eyes glistened. "He's still in the hospital," she choked out. "Dr. McMahon said he'd be out in a few days."

I sighed and stood up. "Well, I'm sorry, Claire. We all miss him."

Not very long ago, Claire and Quil were driving back from a few weeks in Maine and they had gotten into a huge car crash with one of those gigantic trucks. It had hit them full on but Quil had gotten most of the blow. Claire got some glass in her face and a few broken ribs –which explains the walker– but Quil's two legs had broken along with the steering wheel being smashed into his chest, damaging his lungs and ribs. He's been in intensive care for two months.

Claire wiped away a few tears and looked up at me. "Emily won't let me see him."

I turned around. "What do you mean Emily won't let you see him? Claire, honey, he's your boyfriend. You should be able to see him if you want to," I said, moving her walker and kneeling in front of her. "I mean, you're sixteen, you can drive, you… you love him and you should be able to see him."

She smiled once at me and leaned forward, hugging me. "I love you, Nessie, you know that? You always make me feel better," she sobbed into my shoulder.

I hugged her tightly until she said 'Ow' and her hand fell to her stomach. "Are you okay, Claire?"

She looked at me and put one of her hands to my face. "Nessie," she began, biting her lip.

"What, Claire?" I said, getting really freaking out and concerned now. "Claire, what's going on?"

She smiled, scared. "I'm pregnant."  
~*~

Chapter Eight:

Mental Explanations

I invited Claire to stay the night. I begged Mom and Dad to let me because they said 'it was a school night' but when I pointed out that they let me have a birthday party that lasted until 1:00 in the morning, the agreed. At this moment, Claire and I were sitting on my bed, eating cake and opening my presents. So far, I'd gotten a new laptop from Emmett, the iPhone from Rosalie, diamond earrings from Carlisle, a digital photography camera from Esme since I was recently getting interested in pictures and things like that and a flat screen from Jasper and Alice and a very old looking silver and pearl bracelet from Jasper as well.

"Put it on," she said, taking it out of the box and clasping it around my wrist.

I picked up Dad's present and it was a white envelope. It was lumpy and hard. I ripped it open and my eyes widened. Inside was a key with the Mustang symbol on it.

I squealed, asked Claire to wait where she was and ran down stairs, hugging Dad around the waist. "Thank you, Dad. Thank you," I said, burying my face in his shirt. "It's the best present ever!"

"You're welcome, love. Do you want to see it?"

I nodded and followed him out of the living room and into the garage where he pulled off a sheet that was over a car. "Oh, my God! What kind is it?" I said, confused.

"It's a Mustang Cobra."

I nodded slowly. _Nice, _I thought, leaning against him.

I made a mental note of how it looked and ran back up to my room to show Claire. I bumped into Jasper on the way up. "Oof," I said, feeling him catch my around the wrists before I fell down the stairs.

He smiled. "Nice bracelet," he said smugly.

I laughed. "Thanks. It's really beautiful, Jasper. Thank you."

"It was my mother's."

I huffed. "What is it with people giving my jewelry that belonged to their mothers?" I said, walking past him and into my room. "Wait till you see this," I said, quickly changing moods. I sat down on my bed and took her hands.

I showed her my car. "That's a sweet car," she said, smiling. "I've always wanted a Mustang."

I nodded, yawning. "I think I'm getting tired," I said, flopping backwards onto my pillows.

"Where am I going to sleep?" she asked, poking my knee.

I shrugged, closing my eyes. "Where ever you want." She moved around and laid down on the other side of my bed. Reaching over, I turned off my lamp and the room went dark. We were silent for a while than I spoke. "So how many months?"

I felt her lift her head and look at me. "What?"

I laughed. "How many months, Claire. How many months pregnant?"

She was quiet for a minute. "Two months. It happened on the trip to Maine." Her voice was getting choked up again.

"Wait, how to you know if you were in the hospital?"

She reached over and took my hand. "Watch."

_She and Quil were in his truck, driving down the highway. They were laughing and listening to music, talking about the drunk homeless guy who had asked for a ride to paradise. Quil just drove off with the guy holding onto the bed of the truck, screaming foe Eliza. At this point, Quil was screaming like he was. _

_"Elizaaaaaaaaaa!" Quil screamed. "I'm coming to get you Elizaaaaaaaaaaaa!" _

_Claire started laughing, taking Quil's hand in hers. "Ah, you're funny," she said, looking ahead. _

_Then everything started going really fast, the bright lights, screeching tires, blaring horn and than blackness. _

"This is the next thing I remember," Claire said, her voice choppy and high.

_There was a really bright light and people in white masks. She was at the hospital. "She's got some damage on her face and a few of her ribs are broken but she's going to be fine," a woman said, her back to Claire. "We're just waiting for the blood test to get back. _

_The nurse turned to her and adjusted the top of her bed, making her sit up. When she let, Claire looked at her mom, whose face was red and blotchy. "Where's Quil?" Claire said, looking at her mother. _

_"Oh, honey," her mom said._

_She let out a tough sigh. "Where's. Quil." she snapped. _

_"He's in the room next door." _

_Claire let out a sigh of relief. "Is he going to be okay?" _

_"He's going to be fine, just a little more damaged than you are," the nurse said, going through papers. _

_Claire let her head fall to the side and closed her eyes, blocking the painfully white room. "I have news," a man said. Claire's eyes snapped open. _

_"What news?" her mom said. _

_The doctor smiled. "When we got the test results back, there was nothing wrong with her, just something new." He flipped through his papers. "Claire is with child," he said, smiling at Claire. "Congratulations." _

_Claire's mom took one look at her, than picked up her purse and walked out of the room, closing the door quite forcefully behind her. Claire started crying. "I'm pregnant?" she demanded, clenching her hands into fists. "Seriously?" The doctor nodded. Blackness again. _

"I haven't seen my mom since then," Claire said, sobbing now.

I sat up and turned my light on. "She's avoiding you because you're pregnant?"

Claire sat up, too. "And because I won't get rid of it," she said, wiping her bloodshot eyes.

I looked at her, giving her sympathetic eyes. "Would you? If you had the choice?" I said, gathering my hair on top of my head and tying it into a big bun.

She crossed her legs like a first grader and clasped her hands to her stomach. "No way," she said, shaking her head. "Not in a million years."

"Why not? This baby could ruin your life," I said, biting my lip.

She raised her eyebrow at me. "Are… Are you telling me to get rid of it?"

I shook my head rapidly. "No, not at all, but if your mom isn't talking to you when it's not even born yet, what'll happen when it is born? Do you really want to risk your relationship with her over a baby?"

"Nessie, I'm not getting rid of it. It's mine, it's Quil's and if his not right when he gets out of the hospital, it'd be nice to have a child that's half of him that's normal. You know what it's like. You love Jake like I love Quil, we all know that. If you were pregnant with Jake's kid and Edward or Bella wasn't happy with it, what would you do?"

I nodded. "Alright, I get your point. I give up," I said, leaning back against my pillows. "So, what are you going to do about your mom? Are you going to ignore her for the rest of your life?"

She shrugged. "I figured that if I don't try to do anything for a while, she'll come to me and we'll work it out then. If I keep going to her, she'll just keep getting more and more scared," Claire said, adjusting the pillows behind her.

I was silent for a while because I didn't have anything else to say. "Try to get some sleep," I said, turning my bedside lap off again.  
~*~

Despite what Dad had said, I took the Mustang to school. When I pulled into a spot, guys were instantly crowding around it, talking and staring at it lovingly.

"Look at that car!" one guy said, cautiously reaching out but drawing his hand back, not daring to touch it. "What do you think the horse power on this ting is?"

When I stepped out, they gathered closer. "Okay boys," I said, striking the bitch spy pose. "Step away from me and my car." They did so, making a walk way for to walk through. "Thank you," I said, strutting through it.

I had missed homeroom the day before so when I walked in, my teacher gave me a sly glare. "We missed you yesterday, Ms. Cullen," he said, his bald head glinting from the light coming from the ceiling.

I blushed. "Yeah, I'm sorry. My brother was making sure was making sure we were all ready before we went to homeroom. It took a little longer than we thought."

He moved his hand to point on a desk. "That one's yours."

I walked over and sat down, fiddling with the laces to my Converse boots and looking out the big window on my left. I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and looked up. "Well, this is a surprise," I said, looking up at Jasper and seeing Jake standing behind him.

Jasper laughed. "Isn't it? Anyway, you never answered my question," he said, sitting at the desk in front of me and turning around. "How are you?"

I smiled, pushing his hair out of his eyes with my pencil. "Peachy keen," I said, feeling Jacob take my hand as he sat down next to me. I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Hey," I said quietly in his ear.

"Hey," he said, smiling. He sat there for a minute then opened his eyes as if he remembered something. "I have a present for you." He reached into his pocket and produced a very small velvet box. "It's cheesy and stuff but… here," he said, placing it on the edge of my desk.

I raised one eyebrow at him, smiling slyly, but I reached over and lifted the lid to the box. There was a silver band inside with diamonds embedded in a close line all around it. It really pretty. "Um… what's it for?"

He laughed. "Wearing." I narrowed my eyes at him. "It's a promise ring," he said, pulling it out and slipping it on my left ring finger. I laughed once, looking at him. "I told you it was going to be cheesy."

I shook my head, getting up and sitting on his lap. "No, it's not. It's sweet," I said, hugging him until the first period bell rang.


	5. Chapter 9&10

Chapter Nine:

Annie

As I walked to College Chem, the class I'd dropped yesterday, I kept glancing down at my new ring. It kept glinting from the ceiling lights and casting a rainbow across my chest.

I opened the door to College Chem and sat down at the experiment counter in the exact center of the room, taking the seat closer to the window. When the bell rang, I pulled out my pencil and started sketching a picture of Jacob on a piece of lined paper. I didn't hear a word of what the teacher said until the person next to me tapped my shoulder. I snapped my head up and looked at her. It was Annie.

She smiled quickly once and tilted her head to the side. "Oh, you're Jasper's, um,…" She didn't finish her sentence.

"Nie- sister," I said, correcting myself quickly.

She frowned. "You guys don't look anything alike."

I laughed once, sliding my drawing under my binder with out taking my eyes away from hers. "We're all adopted. Well, not literally. Jasper is actually brothers with Rosalie, Emmett is actually Alice's and Bella's brother and I'm actually Edward's little sister. We're all just adopted. Still related though. Jacob though. He's from a whole other world. We don't even know who he's related to-" I realized I was rambling and stopped, blushing.

"O…kay. Well, let's get started on the lab questions, yeah?" she said, handing me the paper the teacher handed just handed out. "So, question one. What are the substances that make up a dry cell battery?" I looked at her, raising one eyebrow. "We're doing electricity for the first quarter. Now, what are the substances that make up a dry cell battery?"

"Zinc, zinc chloride, ammonium chloride, graphite and manganese dioxide," I shot out, noticing her awed stare. "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Question two. What are the substances that make up a wet cell battery?"

"Copper, copper sulfate, sulfuric acid, nickel and zinc." She stared at me again. "What?" It practically came out in a laugh.

"Nothing, it's just that, you said those things as if you knew them all your life," she said, looking down at her paper.

I nodded and shrugged it off.

When the period ended and the bell rang, she turned to leave, her nose in a new book but I grabbed her arm, making her turn around. "Hey, um, I noticed you were eating alone yesterday." She nodded as if it didn't seem to bother her. "Well, if it's not a problem, maybe you could eat lunch with my family today," I said, giving her a small smile.

She bit her lip. "I don't know. With what happened yesterday, I don't really think that's a good idea," she said, sticking her nose back in her book.

I frowned. "Well, if you change your mind, feel free to come and sit with us, okay?"

She nodded as she walked out of the room and I headed for History with Jake.  
~*~

After History, and after I'd quickly changed out of my gym clothes from the painfully horrible class, I joined Jacob in the hall. He took my hand and we walked, side by side, to our lockers to pick up our lunch. Since we were in the same homeroom, our lockers were near each other so Jake stopped at his locker and I walked down the line, stopping at a locker four doors down. While I was putting my binders in my bag neatly, I felt someone tap on my shoulder. Turning my head, I saw Kyle standing there with a small smile on his face. Rolling my eyes, I just went back to getting my water bottle.

"Renesmee, could I speak with you for a minute, privately?" he said sweetly, putting his hands behind his back.

I looked around him at Jake and he shrugged, smiling. "Fine," I said, following him around the corner near the music room. I let out a sharp breath. "What?"

After letting out a slow and irritating breath, he spoke. "I would like to respectfully apologize for the way I acted with you yesterday," he said, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

I raised my eyebrows. "So?" I said, taking a long sip from my water bottle. He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. "You think that just because you said sorry that I'll go out with you. Get real, Kyle." He bit his lip and looked at the ground. I sighed. "I'm sorry, I just don't know how else to tell you, I have a boyfriend."

He smiled at me. "Well, you did say that if you were ever available to date you would go out with me so I guess that's answer enough. I'll stop pestering you now. How about, we just become friends?" He held out his hand to me.

I sighed but shook it just as Jacob came around the corner, his face hard and serious. "Come on, Ness. Let's go," he said, glaring at Kyle.

He grabbed my hand away from Kyle and pulled me down the hall, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "Jake, what the heck was that?" I said, stopping and pulling him back.

He turned around and glared at me. "Nessie, I-" He looked at me again, his eyes softer and more pleading this time.

I realized what he was aiming toward. "Jacob, are you jealous of Kyle?" I spat out, taking his huge hand in my own little one. "You've got to be kiddin-"

I couldn't finish before Jake slammed his mouth to mine, locking his arms around my waist. I tried to pull away, us being in school and all, but instead, he just took one hand and twisted it in my hair, keeping my mouth firmly against his. That's when I practically melted into him and my eyes started to roll back into my head. I felt him walk forward, stopping when I was up against the wall of the school. I dropped my water bottle, hearing it make a 'thunk' as it hit the carpeted floor. Jake ran his hands down my body, placing them on my hips and I moaned into his mouth before someone cleared their throat. We broke away from each other, only turning out heads to see who did.

I sucked my lips into my mouth we saw Rosalie standing there with her hands on her perfect hips. "What's this I see going on in the hallway?" she said teasingly, swishing her hair over her shoulder.

Jacob looked at her, me and than her again. "Well, I'd think it obvious, Rosalie," he said, giving her a huge grin. "But we promise we won't break the school."

I snorted, laughing into his shirt while Rosalie probably stared him down. "Very funny, dog," she snapped evilly. I heard her step closer. "You better watch who you're dealing with."

I turned my head, still resting it on Jake's chest. "Ooh, I'm really scared," he said before she stalked off. He looked down at me. "Nessie, I'm really scared."

I laughed again and picked up my water bottle before we both sauntered off to the cafeteria for lunch.

I sat next to Jake, a space between me and Emmett just incase Annie came. I kept looking but couldn't find her. "Who do you keep looking for?" Alice asked, looking away from her game of 'Slap' with Jasper.

I sighed and looked across the table at her. "That girl Annie. I invited her to have lunch with us today and she said she'd think about it," I said, resting my head on my hand.

Dad looked at me like I was crazy. "You did what?" he said, turning his attention away from Mom's story about her English class.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please, Dad. It's not that bad," I said, twisting my hair around on my finger.

Rosalie laughed angelically. "Yeah, it's not as bad you inviting Bella to eat with us," she said quietly. Dad reached across the table and hit her arm. She smiled.

I looked up at Emmett. "What is she talking about?" I mouthed.

He shrugged, obviously knowing. I looked over to Dad. "It's nothing, Renesmee."

I was about to say something when he nodded his head toward me. I looked up and saw Annie standing there holding her book with turned out to be Jane Austin's _Persuasion, _and her lunch. "Hi," she said, standing there awkwardly.

I smiled. "Glad you decided to sit with us," I said, patting the stool next to me.

"Thank you for letting me sit with you guys," Annie said to my family, trying to force a smile.

Mom smiled encouragingly at her. "Welcome Annie. I'm Bella," she said, placing her hand over her chest. "And this is Edward," she pointed to Dad, "Rosalie, Emmett, Jacob, Jasper you already know and Alice." She pointed to everyone while saying their names.

Alice looked at Annie as if she was a speck if dust. Annie looked down at the ground but than looked back up at Alice. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to be so rude," she said quietly, tucking her curly silver hair behind her ear.

Alice gave her a smile. "It's okay," she said, sliding her hand across the table toward Annie's. She curled her pale fingers over Annie's slightly tanned ones. "No harm done."

Annie relaxed increasingly and I was wondering if that had something to do with Jasper, but I didn't ask. Instead, I got a slow head shake from Dad, telling me no. I raised my eyebrows quickly at him and turned to Annie. "So have you asked Kyle to the dance yet?" I said, nudging her arm playfully.

She blushed and stuck her nose in her book. "No, I haven't," she said simply, trying to ignore the stares and raised eyebrows from my family. She looked up and flicked her head around, looking at everyone. "What? I don't think he'll say yes."

Rosalie leaned around Emmett and raised her eyebrows even higher, even though it seemed impossible. "Come on, Annie. You never know," she said with an encouraging smile.

She shrugged, biting her lip. Than Dad said something that totally surprised me. "Annie, ask him. You know you want to," he said, writing something down on his homework.

She raised her eyebrows at him, but glanced over to Kyle's table. "Well… I don't know about this," she said as she rose from the table and wandered over to him and his friends.

I zoned her out, not wanting to be nosy while the others practically leaned toward the conversation. I looked over quickly and saw Kyle looking at me. I could tell she had just asked and he was wondering whether or not to say yes. When I looked away, I could hear him say 'Sure, Athena, I'll go with you. I'd love to.' I sighed with relief and looked at him again. He shrugged and made a funny face. I laughed to myself and finished my water bottle.

Annie came skipping back to the table and sat down. "He said yes!" she squealed, clapped her hands together quickly. She let out a long sigh leaned against the table.

Alice and Rosalie gave each other looks and looked at Annie. "How about you come over to our house on Friday night and get ready with us?" Rosalie said and Alice beamed brightly.

Annie bit her lip, but nodded.

I rolled my eyes, already having the feeling that there was going to be tons of shopping involved.  
~*~

Chapter Ten:

The Masquerade Dance

When I got home on Friday afternoon after playing baseball with Emmett for a few hours, Rosalie, Alice and Annie were all in Alice's room, doing their makeup. I dropped my bat of the floor and rolled my eyes as Rosalie handed me a white bag. I looked into it, not surprised at all to see an aqua colored dress that had a strap that would wrap around my neck. It was cut open at the bottom, with little ruffles around the slight train that didn't reach the floor when I pulled it out.

Alice smiled when I held it up to myself. "Wow, Nessie, that's going to look great on you." I smiled, agreeing. "Annie picked it out, isn't she fantastic?" she said, squeezing her shoulder.

I nodded. "Yeah, Annie it's great," I said, going into the bathroom to change into it.

When I immerged, they all gasped and smiled. "Oh, my God, Nessie, Jake is going to love you in that!" Rosalie squealed, clapping her hands together really fast.

I looked at the dresses they were wearing. Alice had a small purple one with flowers along the top, Rosalie had on a red one that had a slit going up the side that ended near her thigh, and Annie had on a dress similar to mine, only black and shorter. The masks weren't any better. They all matched the dresses perfectly and were the same intensity the dresses had. Alice's, purple of course, was one that covered only her eyes and was lined with black stones while Rosalie's looked like it was one fire. Annie's was a black on with white design and it was one of those old fashioned ones on a stick, which was also pretty intense, carvings and everything.

Annie handed me my mask. "Here," she said, holding it up to my face. "Wow, Alice, you were right. It does go with her face."

When we all finished getting ready, all of us having plain silver shoes, we put on our masks, well Annie held hers to her face, and we walked down stairs. We saw Mom and Dad sitting on the couch. "You guys aren't coming?" Rosalie complained, jumping up and down slightly. "Why not?"

Dad glared at Rosalie. "We just want to have a night away from all you guys," he said, wrapping his arm around Mom's shoulder.

I just rolled my eyes and tried to hide a smile when Jasper, Emmett and Jacob came strutting into the room, spinning around and showing up their outfits, all of them in suits and masks. Jacob's I liked the best. He was wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask, my favorite musical of all time. Emmett just had on plain black mask and Jasper a plain silver one. Emmett and Jasper went over to Alice and Rosalie, pulling them into hugs and kissing them. I blushed when Jacob came over to me and kissed my cheek.

"Nice dress," he whispered in my ear.

I smiled, touching the side of his face that was covered in the mask. "Nice mask Phantom," I joked, trying to lift it off his face.

He cringed back and covered his face where my hands had been. "Damn you! You little prying Pandora! You little demon- is this that you wanted to see? Curse you! You little lying Delilah! You little viper! Now you cannot ever be free." He pulled me up into his arms. "Damn you… Curse you…," he said, quoting my favorite part of the play.

I laughed, kissing him again. "Fear can turn to love- you'll learn to see, to find the man behind this monster," I said, hugging him tightly.

"Gee, you guys are so cute!" Annie said sarcastically, waving us all toward the door. "We have to go now!"

We all rolled our eyes at her but walked toward the door and into the garage where we all piled into the Jeep, me and Alice sitting on Jacob and Jasper's laps so Annie could fit into the car.

We all walked into the gym, which was decorated in a way even Alice couldn't imagine and it was breath taking. I literally gasped. Annie squeezed my hand and went to find Kyle. Jacob and I watched at Rosalie, Emmett, Alice and Jasper instantly hit the dance floor, dancing around with the other people. I looked up at him as the song changed from something by BassHunter to _Cinderella _by Stephen Curtis Chapman. He nodded his head toward the floor as he grabbed my hand, pulling me gently out to dance.

He pulled my hands up around his neck and placed his hands on the small of my back as we started twirling around the dance floor with the others. I giggled, resting my head on his chest. "I had no idea you could dance," I said, squeezing the back of his neck lightly in my hands.

He grinned. "Neither did I," he said, sounding comically truthful. "This is the first time I've danced since… since your mother's wedding."

He sounded sad, almost hurt. I quickly changed the subject. "So, what do you think of my dress?"

He laughed, giving me an Eskimo kiss. "I think it's beautiful," he said, moving on hand from my back to place it on the side of my face, kissing me tenderly. "You're beautiful." I felt me cheeks flame up when he dipped me, almost making my hair touch the floor. When he pulled me back up, he looked dead into my eyes and smiled. "I love you."

I was silent. He'd never said that before, or at least, not in the content that he was probably intending. He'd been saying it to me for my whole life, but I always assumed he meant it in a brotherly/sisterly love. I was about to say it back when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned and Jasper was standing behind him, his hands behind his back. "May I cut in?" he said, holding his hand out to me.

I bit my lip but Alice came dancing up and took Jacob's hand, pulling him out with her, both of them disappearing into the swarm of people. I took Jasper's hand and we started dancing together. "So, Jasper, how have I been doing in being in a better niece-uncle relationship with you?" I asked as he spun me around slowly.

He laughed, holding my hand up higher. "You've been wonderful," he said, resting his forehead against my own. "It's just- I know that things are- The condition I'm in-" He kept searching his mind for the right sentence.

I took my hand off the back of his neck and put it over his mouth. "You're a great uncle, Jasper. But, if you're uncomfortable with being around me because of the terms you're in and the way I smell to you, I don't want to have you go through the pain than you're obviously in," I said, tears springing to my eyes.

I broke away from him and tried to run out of the gym. I was stopped by Kyle, who was talking with some of his friends. He grabbed my arms as looked me in the eye. "Renesmee, are you alright?" he said, trying to pull me into a hug.

I pushed him off me and ran around him, calling "You should go find Annie," over my shoulder.

When I finally made it out to the empty hall, I broke down, sliding to the floor. I pulled my mask off and covered my face with my eyes, sobbing into my palms. I heard someone walk up next to me and I was about to tell Kyle to go away, but the hand they placed on my shoulder was cold. Opening my fingers so I could see who it was, I tried to compose myself when Jasper was kneeling next to me with a tissue. He was slightly smiling at me and his golden eyes felt like they were trying to burn a hole into my soul.

"Don't… Don't cry over me, sugar," he said, dabbing the tissue under my eyes. "You know that you'll always be my niece and I'll always love you, don't you?" I nodded.

At that moment, Emmett and Rosalie came scurrying in. "We saw Nessie run out of the gym crying, what's wrong?" Emmett said, picking up my mask and helping me put it back on.

I let out a shaky sigh. "Nothing, I'm fine," I said, wiping my nose one final time before walking into the gym with one of Rosalie's arms around my shoulders and the other one, dabbing away the leftover tears.

I heard Emmett scowl. "Jazz, you said that you wouldn't talk to her about this tonight," he hissed, scampering up to join me and Rose.  
~*~

When we got home after hours of dancing and dropping Annie off at her house, I ran up to my room and changed quickly, hanging my dress up on my closet with the mask tied around the hanger. I had just slipped on a pair of bunny slippers when my computer flashed and made a 'ding' sound. I walked over, moved the mouse and saw an IM that had been created.

**Kyle.X.Y.: **Renesmee, r u there?

**Kyle.X.Y.: **Nessie, I'm going 2 keep IMing u until u answer!

**Kyle.X.Y.: **Okay, r u screening ur IMs & just not telling me?

I sighed and sat down at my desk. I tapped the mouse pad twice and started typing in the reply box.

**BronzeBabe87: **Yes, Kyle XY (which is actually a rly crappy TV show), what do u want?

**Kyle.X.Y.: **I just wanted 2 c if u were ok

**BronzeBabe87:** I am fine. Ok. I g2g 2 bed, ok? Bye!

**Kyle.X.Y.: **fine, but will you IM me 2mrw?

**BronzeBabe87: **ok, I will. Now leave plz!

I sighed and closed the window, shutting my laptop. Claire came waddling in then, holding a plate with a big piece of half eaten birthday cake on it. "Hey, how was the dance?" she asked, shoving half of the half of the piece of cake into her mouth.

I laughed. "It was okay, I guess."

She nodded solemnly. "Your dad told me about what happened with Jasper." She sat down next to me on my window seat. "Nessie, I'm so sorry," she said, putting her hand on my knee and squeezing it lightly.

I shrugged. I trailed my eyes down her face again, following her scar to her collar bone. It took all that I had to not ask if it ever bothered her to have her face permanently messed up like that and finally I couldn't help it anymore. "Claire, does it ever bother you?"

She cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean? Does what ever bother me?" I reached over and traced her scar. She put her fork down and placed her hand over it. "No, not really. I've actually kind of gotten used to it. I hardly notice it anymore." She smiled weakly. "It's just one of those things now, you know. Something you can't get rid of," she said, putting her cake down and calmly walking to my bathroom.

I heard the sound of her throwing up echo through the bathroom and after about five minutes, she came shuffling back in as if she'd never left. "Anyway, where was I?"

"You're scar," I said, taking her cake and finishing it off for her.

She smiled. "Right. And speaking of my scar, I have something to show you. Wait here." She stood up and walked out. I sat there, licking the frosting off the fork until she came back. "Nessie, the fixed Quil. The fixed Quil, Nessie."

I jumped up from my chair and practically bounded over to him, carefully wrapping my arms around his neck. "Careful, careful, Nessie, please don't hurt me," he said, patting my back quickly and than pushing me away. He was using those arm crutches things that strap onto your arms and have handles that you hold. He had a white bandage around his head and stitches up the side of his face and over his nose. I bit my lips, trying not to cry. It didn't work. My chin quivered and tears streamed down my cheeks like waterfalls. I angrily wiped them away and tried to regain myself. He just laughed. "Hey, Nessie, don't cry. I'm okay," he said, tapping my leg with his crutch thing.

I smiled shakily at him and he wobbled out, saying he had a headache and wanted Advil. I looked at Claire. "Does he know?" I asked quietly.

She shook her head. "Not yet. He only got here five hours ago, Nessie. But I'll tell him, I promise I will."


	6. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

Ten Things to Do at WalMart

When I woke up the next morning, I instantly got up and walked over to my vanity table. I looked in the mirror and winced at my swollen eyes. They were red as hell and looked like balloons. _Thank you, Jasper Hale _I thought before going downstairs for breakfast. Esme was bustling around, whipping eggs and chopping strawberries while Jasper and Emmett made pancakes and bacon.

"Here, Nessie, I can't try these. Is this bacon cooked enough?" Jasper said, pulling a piece of bacon out of the pan and holding it between his hands before letting me take a bite. He tried to pull it away but I chomped on it between my teeth. He just let go. "Well?"

I patted his shoulder sympathetically. He let his head fall against his chest. "Just a little bit longer," I said, eating the rest of the bacon. "I like it crisp." I turned and saw Claire sitting at the table with her head between her hands. I sat down across from her, leaning on my elbows. "What's wrong, sugar pie?" I asked, imitating Jasper's southern accent.

She looked up at me and her eyes were as red and puffy as mine. "I told him."

My eyes widened and I pulled her into a hug. "Oh, Claire, I'm so sorry," I said, stroking her hair.

She sobbed into one of many shirts I've borrowed from Jake and now given back. "I… thought that… out of… everybody… he'd under… stand!" she wailed, sniffing and wiping her nose. I pulled away and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'll be right back," I said, tapping her nose and turning toward the front door.

"Don't bother." I spun around again. "Everybody already tried talking to him; your mom, your dad, everyone. Even Rosalie tried to talk some sense into him."

"Well, what happened there?" I asked, leaning against the fridge.

She did a halfhearted laugh. "She just ended up punching him and flouncing away."

I thought for a minute, pulling another piece of bacon out of the pan and munching on it. "Well," I said, wiping my hands on my sweatpants, "if anyone can talk some scents into Quil Ateara, it's me." I marched across the lawn to Jacob's house and walked right in, interrupting their breakfast. "Jake can I talk to Quil in privet?" Jake raised his eyebrows. I glared at him so he rose from the table and kissed my cheek before running up to the main house.

I sat down at the table, about to say something when Quil interjected. "Look, I know I'm not taking this the way I should but what do you expect? How do you think Jacob would react if you told him you were pregnant?" he said, taking a bite of cereal.

I pointed my finger at him threateningly. "Never compare Jake and I to you and Claire. And even if that was the case, he'd probably be happy. That's what imprinting is Quil! She'd have to get pregnant sometime!" He cowered into his cereal bowl. "And further more. Your girlfriend is up in our kitchen crying because you couldn't accept the fact that _you _got her pregnant. Without you, there'd be no baby! You're fifty percent of the problem, Mr. Quil Ateara," I shouted, standing up and turning my back to him. "Why don't you think about that while you figure out the right thing to do."

I walked out the front door and slammed it behind me, stomping up the yard and into the kitchen again. Claire was sitting there with Jacob, his arms around her. She looked up at me hopefully and I smiled at her. "Why don't you go talk to him now Claire-Bear," Jacob whispered in her ear, giving her a big hug before she stood up shakily and walked down to the cottage. Jacob raised his eyebrows, impressed. "What did you say?"

I shrugged, cutting the pile of pancakes in front of me. "I just said that this is what imprinting was and that he should think about what to do while his girlfriend was up in our kitchen crying because he couldn't accept the fact the he was the one who got her pregnant."

Emmett smacked his hand to his face. "Now, Jasper, how come we couldn't think to say that?" he said, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder.

After I finished my breakfast, I went upstairs and checked my e-mail. I had the usual stuff, 'Hello' e-mails form Tanya and the guys in Alaska, stuff like that, but there was one e-mail that caught my attention. A forwarded message from Embry. "Ten things to do at WalMart." I looked up form my computer screen. "EMMETT!"  
~*~

A half hour later, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Jacob and I all walked into WalMart. After I'd printed out the e-mail, Emmett and I had recruited them to do it with us. We'd invited Annie, Claire and Quil to come along but Annie said she was going out for brunch with Kyle while Claire and Quil were still talking. So we all drove to WalMart and walked in, going to the very back of the store.

I pulled the piece of paper out of my back pocket and looked at number on.

1) Buy a box of tampons and stick them up your nose. Walk around the store and find an employee.

_Jasper_

After we bought the tampons, Jasper tore the box open and pulled the wrappers off, sticking one in each nostril. We all hid behind a shelf, watching him stride up to an employee. "Excuse me, sir, can you tell me where I can buy a razor?"

The buy looked like he was going to pass out. "Um, they're right that way." Jasper turned to leave but the employee called him back. "Could you tell me that you bought those?" he said, flicking the string to one of the tampons protruding out of Jasper's nose.

"No, I didn't buy them," Jasper said in fake shame.

The employee frowned. "Then why are they stuck up your nose?"

Jasper's eyes widened. "Yo, dawg, why you gettin' all up in my grill?" he said, holding his arms up and shoulder height.

"I- Well, I-"

Jasper shook his head. "No, I don't want to her any of it!" He went to storm off, but spun on his heel to face the employee. He tugged the tampons out of his nose and placed them in the employee's hands. "You can have these back! And maybe you'll learn some respect!"

2) Find a bottle of shaving cream and a razor. Go into the wrong gender bathroom and start shaving your legs.

_Nessie_

I sat on the edge of the stone counter, my pants rolled up and shaving cream on my legs. I kept getting looks of confusion, but I ignored it. Some of the guys even asked me if I was a cross dresser of something. I simply said no and went back to shaving my legs. When the same employee that Jasper had encountered came in, I held up the bottle of shaving cream.

"Excuse me, fine employer, could you tell me how much these are all together?"

He turned around and looked at me. "I think you're a little confused. This is the men's bathroom."

I frowned. "I and aware it's them men's bathroom," I snapped, putting the razor on the counter. "What I am unaware of is the total price of these two items!"

He came over to me and looked at the bottle. "It's five ninety nine," he said, looking at me strangely.

I huffed. "Well, what kind of store is this!" I screamed, standing up with the shaving cream still on both legs. "I'll just go to Target! They have much better prices and nicer employees! You are so rude!" I grabbed the shaving cream and razor, tossed them into the trash and walked out, the guy scratching his head and the shaving cream still on my legs.

3) Smear makeup all over your face and go to the cash register, asking to buy it but you don't know what it's called. Tell them to scan your mouth.

_Alice_

Rosalie and I were standing in front of Alice, a tube of 'Luscious Ruby' lipstick in each hand. Emmett and Jasper hand blue eye shadow while Jake went crazy with blush. After three minutes of covering her entire face with the makeup, she glided off to the register. "I'd like to buy this lipstick," she said, puckering her lips and pointing to the smeared 'Luscious Ruby' all over her mouth and chin.

The employee leaned away, a disgusted look on her face. "Okay, do you have a tube with you?"

Alice searched her pockets. "No," she said, stomping her foot once. She puckered her lips again. "You can scan my mouth though." The employee raised her eyebrows. "Scan!" Alice started stomping around in circles. "Scan! Scan! Scan! Scan! Scan!" She leaned as close to the employee as she could get what with her height and all. "Scan," Alice hissed, puckering her lips again. The employee cautiously brought the scanning gun to her mouth. "Ah!" she screamed, running around in circles again. "They have a lazar gun! They're trying to kill me!"

She ran away and walked right into the managers office. "There is an employee of yours that's trying to kill me with their lazar gun!" she yelled, slamming her hand down on the table.

Five minutes later, the manager was standing in front of the employee, Alice at his side. "What have I told you about telling people that that scanning gun is not an actual lazar gun?" Alice nodded like a spoiled brat.

Next to me, Emmett put his hand on my shoulder, supporting himself. "Oh, God," he said, holding his stomach in fake laughing pain. "This is just too good."

Alice stomped away after much pleading from the manager. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again!" she shouted over her shoulder. She came over to us. "Right, Jasper, it's time for you to do your job," she said, hugging him and handing him two more tampons.

He stuck them in his nose and went over to the employee. "You've got a break," he said, spinning the string to the tampon around his finger like it was a lock of hair. The employee looked at him like she'd looked at Alice. "Trust me, you'll want to take a break for a while."

He came back to us and Alice grabbed a teddy bear off the shelf. She walked behind the counter and placed the bear on the place where people sign receipts. When ever a customer came, she pretended to be the bear. "Hello, welcome to WalMart, how may I help you today?"

She scared off every person that came up to her.

We all howled with laughter when she slowly stood up, a glare on her face when the employee came back from her break. Alice took the scanning gun in her hands and pointed it at the girl. "I'm warning you now, girl. Any funny business, any at all, and you won't have any meals for a week," she said, quoting the first Harry Potter movie.

4) Find the place where they sell fishing equipment. Get a pole and bait the hook. Than walk around WalMart with the end of the pole in your pocket. Have the line and bait dangling in front of your face. When it starts to 'bother you' eat it.

_Emmett _

We wandered around for a while until we found the fishing aisle. We took one of those really long fishing poles that people use for catching huge fish and things like that, and a rubber worm, baiting the hook. After pulling the fishing line down really far, we shoved the pole into Emmett's back pocket, dangling the rubber worm in front of his face.

"Okay, go," Rosalie said, pushing him out into the movie section.

He heard him snort and we all looked through the shelf to see him pull up his pants like a regular country boy. "Yee, doggies, I is goin' fishin'." He walked up to an elderly couple. "Y'all ever been fishin'?" They shook their heads. "Well, lemme tell you somein' young fellers, y'all don' know what y'all're missin'!" He spat on the floor. "Yep, I'ma goin' down to the lake. Y'all wanna come?" he said, nudging them with him elbow.

They shook their heads and hurried away. I choked form trying not to laugh. After a few minutes of walking around in circles with his thumbs hitched onto the waistband of his jeans, he started to get this bugged look on his face. "Damned bait. Them fish are askin' fr too much." With that, he leaned back and aimed the rubber worm straight for his mouth. He chewed for a minute than spat it out of the ground. "What in tarnation was that?" he shouted. He marched over to a register and glared at the employee. "What the hell kinda bait are you selling? I nearly died!"

The employee shrugged. "Last time I checked, you aren't supposed to eat the bait, you're supposed to lure the fish with it."

We all keeled over in laughter. Emmett stood there for a minute, a blank look on his face. "Well, the fish'll die too!" he screamed back. "What the hell kinda store is this. I'm goin' to Target. They have some nice, tasty bait unlike the stuff you sell, you rubber lovin' fish killin' asshole!" Than he stormed out, only to be ushered back in by Jasper.

"You forgot to put back that pole mister," he said, pulling the pole out of Emmett's pocket and putting it down on the floor.

"Well, with that bait, they'da deserved to loose a pole as fine as that one!" He stuck his tongue out at the employee.

5) Pick up the announcement phone and pretend you're having a conversation about the guy you like with your best friend.

_Jacob _

When Jacob picked up the phone, it had a lot of feed back. I had to cover my ears. When it stopped, he put the phone to his ear. "Hello, Stacy? It's Melissa. I have the most amazing news!" he squealed, sounding just like a boy obsessed girl. "So, today during math, Josh looked over and me and smiled… I know it's just amazing!... Yeah, it's always during math isn't it? Like in Mean Girls, when Cady falls for the Aaron guy, it's during math! I think it's destiny, don't you?... Oh, my God I know! Unbelievable!"

He kept squealing for a few minutes than the manager came up to him. "Excuse me, sir, you can't touch that," he said, trying to take the phone away form him.

Jacob pulled away and put his hand over the ear piece. "Mom, can't I just have five more minutes?" he wailed, pleading to the manager. He shook his head. "Ugh, fine. He put the phone back to his ear. "God, Stacy, I have to go. My mom's being a doofus. Okay, talk to you later! TTFN! Toodles!" he hung up the phone and glared at the manager. "You couldn't have given me five more minutes? Disgraceful!"

He stomped back over to us and I gave him a big kiss. "Nice job, Melissa," I whispered in his ear.

"Hey, I'm only the best!"

6) Find a really good looking guy and flirt with him. When he asks for your number, come up with a really lame excuse for not being able to go out with him

_Rosalie_

I handed Rosalie my hair tie and she lifted her t-shirt up halfway up her stomach, putting the extra fabric in the hair tie and tucking it under her shirt. She wandered through the store for a while until she found one of the guys form our school. "Oh, my gosh, it's Justin, right?" she said, giving him a friendly hug.

He hugged her back confused. "Uh, yeah. You're Rosalie, right?"

She nodded. "Well, funny running into you here! I didn't know you shopped at WalMart." She was being all bubbly and happy, something I rarely saw form her.

Justin furrowed his eyebrows. "Um, I work here." He pointed to his worked badge.

She giggled and tapped his nose. "Oh, you're so funny!"

Emmett ducked down to my level. "She's a great actress, huh?" I nodded. "Yeah, she's had a lot of practice over the years." He raised his eyebrows at me continuously.

I looked at Jasper questioningly. "Foreplay," he whispered, making a disgusted face.

I shivered and looked back to Rosalie and the guy named Justin. She was leaning against the wall and he had one hand by the side of her face. He was leaning so close to her, if he leaned down another inch, they'd be kissing. "So, I heard you played football," she said seductively. He nodded. She trailed her fingers across his collar bone. "I love a man in a uniform, especially one that makes him all…" She leaned forward until she mouth was right by his ear. "Sweaty."

He smiled. "Well, I get sweaty in this too, carrying those boxes around all the time," he said, stepping closer to her.

She flicker her hair over her shoulder, exposing her neck to him. He shivered, turning his pelvis away from her. She laughed. "Oh, don't be shy! I get reactions like that all the time." She glared at Emmett but when Justin went to see who she was looking at, she swiftly moved her hand to his face and turned his attention back to her.

He grinned at her. "So, uh, can I have your number?" He impressively flipped his phone out of his pocket and opened it.

She sucked in a breath and pushed him off of her. "Sorry, Justin, but I can't go out with you."

He make a look of confusion. "Why not? After all that flirting?"

She made a face. "Well, I just don't want my kids to have blonde hair," she spat out, looking apologetic.

His face went even more confused. "But Rosalie, you're a blonde too."

She made an over exaggerated insulted face and pulled her shirt down fully over her stomach. "And to think I liked you. Never talk to me again!" she said, storming off through the other aisle.

7) Go to the section where they sell curtains. Hid behind one and wait for someone to come along. Jump out and say 'Boo!'

_Emmett_

We put him behind a think curtain and waited. After five minutes, a woman around the age of thirty came looking at them. When she approached the one Emmett was hiding behind, he moved the curtain aside and screamed "BOO!" The woman jumped, putting her hand over her chest.

"Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But it's National Scare Someone Day! Come on, help me!" He pulled her behind the curtain and continuously told her to 'Shush it, will ya? You'll blow our cover!"

After about ten minutes, the curtain started to rustle. He came out with his hands over his crotch. "Don't go anywhere! I have to go potty! Please don't move. He came back five minutes later with Rosalie. She walked right up to the curtain the woman was behind.

"What do you think about this one, honey?" At the same time, the woman jumped out and shouted 'Boo!' Rosalie screamed and hi her face in Emmett's chest, pretending to cry.

"What is wrong with you!" Emmett said, rubbing Rosalie's back. "Don't you have any respect for people?"

"But, you just-"

Emmett cut her off. "Forget what I did! When you go scaring my wife! How dare you!"

The woman hung her head. "I'm sorry, miss," she pleaded, her hands clenching into fists.

Rosalie turned her head and gave the woman the look of death. "No, nothing will be forgiven," she hissed. "Security!" Jacob and Jasper strutted up to them. "Take this woman away," she said, pointing at the woman.

Alice and I hugged each other for support. "Oh, my God, this is just too funny," I said, wiping my eye from the tears I was getting.

As Jasper and Jacob ushered the woman out, Emmett and Rosalie followed, nodding and saying stuff like, 'Yeah, that's right. That's what you get with you mess with the Zohan!' 'Emmett, that's a movie.' 'Oh, right. Well, that's what you get when you mess with Emmett and Rosalie Cullen!'

8) Go to the changing room, thinking it's a bathroom.

_Nessie_

I walked into the changing room and found an empty stall. I rolled my pants up again and put a skirt around my ankles. Rosalie and Alice squatted on the bench while I sat on it and make farting noises with their hands and arms. "Huuunnnnnggggg," I said, trying to sound constipated. "Oh, good, Lord, it's a big one!"

Alice make a drawn out fart. I stifled a laugh. Someone knocked on the door. "Miss, what's going on in there?" someone said.

I got up and stuck my head under the gap in between the floor and the door. "None of you're frigging business!" I shouted. "What happens in a stall stays in the stall."

I whipped my head back under and sat back down on the bench. Rosalie made a really loud fart. "Oh, Mama! How the hell have I done this before?" I said, sounding pained. "For all of you who are listening, never have fried ice cream for breakfast! Wrong move of the century!"

Rosalie stopped making a fart to look at me. "Fried ice cream?" she whispered/hissed.

I glared up at her. "It was the first thing that popped into my mind!" I hissed back, positive someone could hear. "Now fart or your fired!"

There was a lot more of that before I held up my hands for them to stop. "Oh, God, this always happens!" I shouted. "Cam someone get me some toilet paper?" Emmett tossed over a roll.

"Here ya are, darlin'. I knows how ya feel. I once hadda fish fer breakie, I didn't come out of that bathroom fer three flappin' days!"

I pulled the skirt of my feet and pulled a long piece of toilet paper from the roll. I stuck one on the bottom of my shoe and the other over the waistband of my pants. I walked out and stood there in front of the door for a minute. "Nobody's going to want to go in there for a while." I cringed. "Sorry."

9) Find a movie you've seen a couple times that you could easily quote.

_Jasper_

I stood next to Jasper and helped him pick a movie that I'd seen a million times. I thought that I'd twist the thing around a little bit. I handed him the movie _The Phantom of the Opera_ starring the extremely pretty Emmy Rossum and totally sexy Gerard Butler. I'd cried more than Jacob had gotten mad so I'm pretty sure as long as picked up my emotion waves, he'd be okay on the dramatic front.

I stood behind the shelf with Emmett, Rosalie and Jacob. We watched it on my iTouch while Jasper picked up all my waves. After listening to The Music of the Night, I was sobbing into Jacob and Jasper was sobbing into one of the employees, who seemed delighted to have him hugging her. "And when he let them go at the end of the movie," I silently sobbed.

"And when he let them go at the end of the movie," Jasper said, wailing into her shirt. The employee patted his back and mouthed 'Oh, my God!' to someone who looked surprised.

"It's okay, sweetie," Jacob and the employee said at the same time.

"No, it's not!" I said, gripping Jacob's shirt. Maybe I was going a little overboard but who cares. It was fun to watch Jasper 'cry' to another woman besides Alice. Emmett and Rosalie seemed to be enjoying the show. They were laughing their heads off while Alice silently chuckled in the corner.

"Hey, Nessie, look at Jasper and the girl. You're going to laugh you're ass off." He turned me to face them. Jasper's shoulder were shaking up and down, like mine, and his face was buried into the woman's shirt, like mine was, and he was sobbing, like I was. Jacob was right. I did laugh my ass of.

So did Jasper.

10) The boys break up with the girls at the same time (This one should be like a script, with run-ons between the boys and the girls)

_Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Jacob and Nessie_

We all gathered around the center of WalMart. There's usually this big display thing there, but not this time. "Prefect," I said, latching myself onto Jacob's arm like Alice and Rosalie were doing for Jasper and Emmett. After a few minutes of flirting and giggling, the guys all pried us off of them and gave us 'the look.'

Emmett: Look, I really, really like you.

Jasper: But I don't think that I have time for a relationship right now.

Jacob: And even though we've have a lot of fun, I think we're moving to fast.

Rosalie: But, I did everything right.

Alice: The hair, the makeup, even the way I eat and laugh.

Nessie: And now all of that was for nothing.

Emmett: It's not like none of this was fun…

Jasper: Believe me it was…

Jacob: And you're a really nice girl but…

All Three Boys: I wanna break up.

All Three Girls: This was a huge waste of time. *sobs* You'll never see me again

Emmett: But Rosalie…

Jasper: But Alice…

Jacob: But Nessie…

*The girls turn and look at them, their faces pain and hurt. When they all speak, their voices are choked and squeaky.*

Rosalie: I gave everything to you.

Alice: You took everything I had

Nessie: And now you just throw it away!

All Three Boys: No, that's not it. I'm just not-

All Three Girls: Ready for a relationship right now. I know, loser. I've heard it before.

Emmett: I guess there's something else you should know, too.

Jasper: I've been hiding this from you for a long time.

Jacob: And believe me, I've wanted to tell you.

All Three Boys: I hate keeping secrets from you.

We all did the best we could to not laugh. It was so funny watching the crown form, a look on their faces as if they were watching a soap opera. It was so funny.

Rosalie: There's someone else isn't there?

Alice: I knew I shouldn't have trusted you.

Nessie: You're a lying, cheating asshole.

Emmett: No, I'm not cheating on you, Rosie.

Rosalie: Don't call me that.

Jasper: I'm not trying to hurt you.

Alice: Don't touch me.

Jacob: I didn't mean to lie.

Nessie: Don't look at me.

All Three Girls: If you weren't cheating, than what's going on?

Emmett: This isn't the way I wanted to tell you…

Jasper: But I guess I have no other choice than to say, baby doll…

Jacob: I have a pony named Seymour.

*All three girls collapse to the floor, screaming and sobbing while the boys stand there awkwardly*

All Three Girls: How could you keep this from me?

Somehow me managed to say it between laughter.

All Three Boys: I didn't mean for it to end this way, honey. Good-bye.

*The Boys turn and walk away while the girl get to their feet and chase after them, begging them to stay with them.*

Rosalie: No, please!

Alice: There has to be someway we can work this out.

Nessie: Please don't leave me!

Emmett: No, I'm sorry, Rosalie.

Jasper: Alice, I have to go.

Jacob: Don't cry, Nessie. Don't cry.

All Three Boys: I'm sorry.  
~*~

We all got into the car and broke into hysterical laughter. "I never thought that would be so much fun!" Rosalie said, kissing Emmett.

Jacob looked at us. "You ladies were phenomenal when it came down to the break up scene," I said, running his fingers through my hair. "I have to say I'm impressed."

Alice smiled at him. "Well, it was hard to keep a straight face after you said you had a pony names Seymour," she said, punching him in the arm. "But that was fun."

It was silent for a while than I sat up with a brilliant idea. "Let's go to Target tomorrow."

**Okay, so I know that chapter was a little weird but I read 25 Things To Do at WalMart: Cullen Style and I was inspired. Please read and review! **


	7. Chapter 12&13

Chapter Twelve:

Homework Turns Into a Secret Agent Dance Party

On Sunday, I woke up in my room, not sure how I got there. The last thing I remembered form the night before was staying up late with Jake and falling asleep in his living room.

I sat up and looked around. I saw Jake sitting on my window seat, his feet propped up on the wall and his head leaning against the pillows I had there. I knew he was awake; he had his Blackberry in his hand and he was typing something on the little keyboard. "What are you doing in here?" I said, my voice horse.

He shot up, knocking the pillows to the floor and nearly breaking the mirror to my vanity table. "Hey, you're awake," he said, sliding his phone into his pocket.

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess I am." I pushed the slippery silk sheets off my legs and stood up, stretching. "But again, what are you doing in here?" I asked, sauntering off to my closet and grabbing a pair of slipper socks.

He followed me, scratching the back of his head. "I fell asleep on your window seat last night when I brought you up here." I looked at him, thinking 'Duh.'

He came over and sat down next to me on the unnecessary couch Alice had insisted on putting in my closet. I looked at him, sliding my feet back and forth on the wood floor. He leaned over, placing his lips carefully on mine, as if he was afraid he'd break me. Without thinking, I leaned into him, deepening the kiss. He parted my lips and I felt his breath in my mouth, his hands snaking up my arms, slipping between my arms and rib cage to pick my up and place me on his lap. I slipped my arms around his neck just as someone cleared their throat.

I broke away from Jacob and Emmett was standing there, the phone in his hands. "Here," he said, handing it to me.

Confused, I took it and pressed it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Nessie, it's Annie," she said form the other line. "I'm sorry to be calling so early, but I have a question."

I looked at my clock on the wall. It wasn't that early, only eight thirty. "Yeah, Annie, what's up?"

She was silent for a minute, than spoke. "I need help with homework. Could I come over?"

I thought for a minute, going through the day in my head. Nothing was happening, why not? "Yeah, sure, you can."

I heard her sigh with relief. "Thank God. I was so confused on my math homework. I'm not as smart as some people." She said it in a way that made it sound like she was talking about me. "Okay, so I'll be over in a few minutes?"

"Yeah, no problem. We'll have breakfast ready for you by then, I'm sure."

She laughed. "Okay, great. See you then. By Nessie!"

The line went dead and I pressed the 'end' button, tossing the phone on the couch next to me. Jacob was looking at me with his eyebrows raised. "What?" I said, twisting my hair around on my fingers.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Let's go have breakfast," he said sliding me off his lap and taking my hand.

We walked down the hall and slowly descended down the stairs. I was surprised when Seth was sitting on the couch with Emmett and Jasper, watching the flat screen intently. I looked at it too. The football game. Scoffing, I went to the kitchen. "What's Seth still doing here? Hasn't school started for him and his students?" I asked, sitting down at the table and kicking my feet onto Jacob's lap.

Esme put three plates down on the table. When I looked at her, she smiled. "Alice can see almost everything, honey. She told me Annie was coming before Annie told you she was coming."

I shrugged and picked up my fork, stabbing a piece of pancake. I was about to eat it when the bell rang. "How did she-"

"I'll get it!" Emmett shouted, cutting me off. "Hey, Annie. Ness is in the kitchen."

A few seconds later, Annie came marching in, her backpack slung over her shoulder. "Hey, Nessie!" she said, sitting next to me. Jacob raised his eyebrows at her and I kicked him under the table. "Good morning."

I stopped, my glass of orange juice halfway to my mouth. "Hi, Annie," I said, confused. She smiled at me. "Are you okay?"

She laughed in a high pitched tone. "Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're acting a little weird," I said, looking at her.

She furrowed her brow. "I am? Well, I guess that's because on last night, after I went out with Kyle, he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes," she said, pretending to think about the statement.

My eyes widened and a smile formed on my lips. "Really? Annie?" She nodded. "Oh, my God, that's great!" I said, getting up and hugging her. When I sat back down, Jacob was staring at her in astonishment. "Isn't Jacob?"

I kicked him again. "Oh, yeah, congrats, Annie."

She smiled and looked at me. "I never thought it would happen. I was just standing there after he dropped me off at my house and he went out to his car but came back two seconds later and kissed me. Than he asked me. I was in shock, but I said yes. Than he kissed me again. Oh, Nessie, it was so amazing." She rested her head on her hand.

I smiled at her and rested _my _head against Jacob's. "That's great, Annie," I said, actually happy for her but wondering inside if he was only doing this to make me jealous. _Nice try, Kyle, _I thought, smiling deviously. _This girl is just fine where she is. _

Annie, Jake and I finished our breakfast before she and I went up to my room to do her homework. That plan didn't work out that well. We ended up getting distracted by my closet. We were pretending to be secret agents, decked out in leggings, black t-shirts and black boots with ray bans dancing/sneaking around to _Love Drunk _by Boys like Girls when Emmett came knocking on the door.

"Come in!" I screamed as Annie grabbed my hands and spun me around. I looked at Emmett as best I could. He was laughing. "What do you want?"

"Esme says lunch is ready," he said, still laughing.

Annie and I stopped, sliding off our ray bans and I pressed pause on my iPod. "Really, it's lunch time already?" she said, looking at her cell phone.

He shrugged. "Apparently," he said, stumbling out of the room, laughing harder when he closed my door.

I shrugged. "Well, if Esme says so, than we better get going." She started to unzip the boots on her feet. "What are you doing?" I said, smiling deviously. I slid my sunglasses off. "We are secret agents for the rest of the day." I reached down and tightened the laces to my Converse boots before taking her hand and running down the hall. We slid down the railing and landed on the floor in a spy crouch. "This is Red 1, reporting that there is no food in sight, sir. We'll check the kitchen."

Annie laughed at me and we stood up, walking into the kitchen. Jacob, Quil and Claire were already there. "Annie, this is Quil and Claire, friends of Jake and I." I looked at them. "Quil and Claire, Annie. Where's Seth?"

Jake pointed to the door. "He went to get some soda from the tiny store on the corner," he said, crunching into a big pickle. I raised one eyebrow at him and he extending the pickle to me. "Want some?"

I laughed once, sitting in my spot and taking a bite from it. "Thank you, love," I said, picking a chip up off his plate and eating it. I looked up and Annie was standing there awkwardly. "Well, sit, Annie."

She plopped herself in the empty spot in between Claire and where Seth would be sitting. "So, Annie, did you meet Nessie at school?"

Annie nodded. "Yeah, I did. I had asked her brother, Jasper, to the dance and he said no, than told me to go out with Kyle, my boyfriend." She squealed. "So than Nessie invited me to eat lunch with her family and now we're here, dancing around in her room and pretending to be secret agents," she said, shrugging.

I laughed. "Yeah, we're real losers," I said, anticipating the moment Seth was going to get back with the sodas.

Annie looked at Quil and Claire. "You are you two, like…"

She moved her hand between them asking they were together. Claire nodded. "Yeah, he's actually fathering my child," she said dully, dramatically putting her hand over her small baby bump.

Annie's mouth opened in surprise and she quickly closed it. "Oh, well, that's… that's… great," she said, not really sure what to say to that.

Claire's eyes became sad. "Yes, I remember the night I received the information like it was yesterday," she said, becoming the actress we all knew she was going to be.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Stop with the dramatics, Claire," I said, eating another chip.

She glared daggers at me, but took a sip of her water, scowling into her sandwich. A few minutes later, I looked up and saw Seth standing in the door. "Hey, what took… you… so…" My words slowed and finally quieted when I saw Seth looking at Annie.

I knew that look. It was the look Jacob had given me countless times. The look that was saying 'You are my goddess and I'll do whatever you want me to do.' The look that said, 'I'll love you forever.' The look that said 'You're beautiful.' I knew what was going on.

Seth.

Imprinted.

On.

Annie.

This was not good.  
~*~

Chapter Thirteen:

Bright Yellow Couldn't Make This Day More Dreary. Irony Much?

Seth still stood there, looking at Annie. She was oblivious to him, chatting away with Claire about Claire's favorite show, Big Bang Theory. Seth was dazed, his eyes sort of glazed over, looking like glass. Jake and Quil looked from him, to each other, than to me. I did the same, sneaking peaks of Annie when I could. She was still talking to Claire.

While Annie was gabbing away, Claire looked up to see why the room had gone silent. When she saw what was going on, she got a terrified look on her face, her eyes widening like a dear in the headlights. She sort of reminded me of Bambi. She quickly continued her conversation with Annie, trying to distract her.

I looked at Seth one more time before looking to Jake frantically. "What do we do?" I mouthed, my eyebrows creasing together.

He shrugged and looked to Quil. So did I. Suddenly, he shouted Seth's name really loudly. "Seth!" He looked away from Annie and the two girls looked up, startled. "What took you so long? We've been waiting for the soda for, like, ten minutes," he said, catching Seth's attention only briefly.

Seth came over and sat down next to Annie in the only available spot left. I felt my hear beat quicken. "Sorry," he said in monotone, looking at Annie out of the corner of his eyes. I fought back the urge to kick him under the table. "The, uh, line was long," he said, putting a six pack of Cokes on the table.

Annie reached out and broke one off. "Anyone mind if I have one?" she asked, popping the can open. We all shrugged and she turned to Seth. "I don't think we've met." She stuck her hand out to him.

"And I don't think you should meet," I hissed under my breath. _Ugh, Dad's just going to kill me, _I thought, burying my face in Jake's chest.

"I'm Annie," she said, completely unaware of what I just said. Seth took her hand and shook it. They both jumped, probably feeling the adrenaline rush I feel whenever I touch Jacob. I smacked my hand to my forehead and Annie looked at me for a split second before going back to Seth.

"I'm Seth," he said, his eyes shinning like the sun after it's been raining for a week straight. "Nice to meet you."

My hands clenched into fists. My blood felt like it was churning around and it was going to boil over. I was getting a feeling in the pit of my stomach that made me want to run to the bathroom and throw up all that I'd eaten in my entire life.  
~*~

When Annie left at around ten thirty that night Dad called a family meeting, obviously knowing what was going on in each of our heads.

So there we sat, the whole family plus the werewolves lingering from the party, which happened a week ago. _Honestly, people, don't you have lives? _I thought, settling myself into Jacob's lap.

Dad stood by the fireplace, his head pressed against the wall and his hands gripping the mantel. "As some of you may know, Seth has imprinted on Renesmee's new friend, Annie Fitzgerald," he said into the wall, his hands loosening on the wooden mantel and falling to his sides.

Alice started bouncing in her seat, shacking the whole couch, her hand raised high in the air. "Ooh, ooh, I knew! I knew!" she said, smiling proudly.

Dad sighed. "Yes, Alice, we know you knew," he said, turning around to face everyone. "So, naturally, we're all pleased for him, but there is conflict blocking it all."

Seth's face got all twisted. "Like what?" he said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the railing to the stairs.

I forced a laugh. "Well, first, she's got a boyfriend," I said, raising one eyebrow at him. "And second, she's human and knows nothing about me, my family or any of the wolves. I doubt she even believes that stuff exists more than I believe that a witchwill save my life."

Seth made a real laugh. "Well, do you believe a witch will save your life?"

"No!"

He frowned. "Renesmee Carlie Cullen," Dad snapped, stroking my hair. "Calm yourself." Jasper snickered in the corner but I felt relaxed instantly. I nodded once to him. Dad stood still for a minute, his hand placed on the back on my head. I did my best to shift the memory of seeing Seth standing there in the doorway when he first saw Annie, but it was hard, considering my anger. "Thank you, Renesmee," he said before returning to the mantel.

Everyone was staring at him. "What are we supposed to do?" Rosalie said, snuggling into Emmett's side.

"Yeah, we can't keep Seth and Annie apart like this forever. There's going to come a time where they won't be able to keep their hands off each other if we do," Emmett piped up, twisting his fingers through Rosalie's hair.

Everybody was silent. "We'll tell her," Carlisle said, leaning forward on his elbows and looking around at everyone. "We'll tell her tomorrow."  
~*~

When I woke up, for some reason, I was in an unusually good mood. I looked across the room into my full length mirror and there was a smile on my face. I pushed back the silk covers and crawled over to the end on my bed, looking at the clock on the wall. I nearly fell off the edge when I saw that it was five thirty, but at least now I had all the time I wanted to get ready for school.

"I am going to take a bubble bath," I mused aloud, walking through my closet and into my bathroom. I filled up the tub and poured half the bottle of soap inside, sloshing the water around before getting undressed, putting my hair up into a hair clip and sliding into the steaming hot water. "Ah, I think I should get up at five thirty every day."

"Nessie?" someone said. _Jake, _I thought, sliding down lower into the tub, hiding the body parts he didn't need to see. "Ness, where are you?"

"I'm in the bathroom!" I said, grabbing the sliding glass door and pulling it closed, the sound of the wheels on the metal tracks squeaking as I yanked it harshly across the rim of the tub. "What do you want?" I asked, hiding behind the door.

Jacob walked in wearing only a pair of sweatpants turned into shorts and sat down on my sink. "Hey," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. My body shook when his muscles tightened, making the water splash around in the tub.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Jacob, is there some reason you are interrupting my very relaxing bubble bath?" I said, pushing my bangs out of my face.

He nodded. "I was talking to Seth this morning and he was wondering if you're going to tell Annie at lunch. If so, he might be paying a little visit."

I let my head fall onto the door. "I guess so. I just feel so bad because she just got together with Kyle and now she has to tell him she doesn't love him, because, you know, she doesn't," I said, running my bubbly hand over my face.

Jake laughed and grabbed a towel, sitting on the floor next to the tub and wiping away the bubbles on my face. "Well, that's the way life is, pumpkin," he said, giving me a quick peck on the lips before tapping my nose with his hands and walking out of the bathroom.

When I finished my bubble bath, I wrapped the towel Jake used around my body. I took a deep breath and I could smell him, not cologne, but Jake, the musky, woodsy smell he always had and I loved. I smiled again and went into my closet, putting on my undergarments and walking around, trying to figure out what to wear. I looked out the sunroof above me. The sun was up and it was nice and sunny out today and I felt like wearing something bright and bubbly. _Ha, bubbly! And I just took a bubble bath. Go figure. _I smacked myself in the head and grabbed a yellow sundress, tugging it over my head and looking in the mirror.

"Shoes, I need shoes," I said, walking over to the place where Alice stored my sneakers. I grabbed a pair of white Chuck Taylor converse and stuffed them on my feet before walking out of my room and down stairs.

Jake and Seth were sitting on the couch, Jacob giving him a look of encouragement. "Seth, it's going to be fine. I was just as nervous when I told Nessie about the imprinting thing. And she was only two. Annie is seventeen. It'll be fine."

I sat down next to Seth, feeling badly about what I said last night. "Seth, honey," I said, stroking his cheek, "it's going to be okay. I promise. And if it doesn't work out today, well, we'll keep trying, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said, patting my knee and standing up, grabbing the remote.

I gave him a small reassuring smile. "Boy, I sure hope so."


	8. Chapter 14&15

**Hey, people! Sorry it took so long but I had some trouble with writers block and a friend of mine. She was having some relationship issues and I was helping her. So, sorry again, but here's chapter fourteen. **

Chapter Fourteen:

Vampires and Werewolves and Nessie. Oh My!

When Jake and I got to school, we had to run down the hallway to get to our classes on time. We stopped at the Gym, I gave him a quick kiss and than we both took off running, he to the changing rooms and me to my social studies class. I stepped into the room just as the bell rang and my teacher smiled at me, waving me over to my seat next to Emmett.

"Hey, sunshine," he whispered tugging lightly at the hem of my dress. I glared at him and stuck out my tongue. "So, are you going to tell Annie today?" he said, looking over my head to copy down his homework.

I did the same, chewing on the end of my pen when I finished. I looked at Emmett. "Yeah, we are. We're telling her everything."

He froze, looking at me. "Everything?" he nearly shouted.

I nodded slowly. "Yup. Everything."  
~*~

The day passed by quicker than I wanted it to. I was so thankful I had algebra last today; I didn't think I would be able to keep anything from Kyle if I had the class before lunch. When lunch came, I met Jake at his locker and we walked down to the cafeteria together. We found my family, and Seth, sitting at a table in the far corner of the room, where no one could see us.

Adrenaline started pumping through my veins, but not in a good way. When Jacob and I sat down, Jasper gave me a look of concern and when the feeling went away, I just shook my head solemnly and the rush came back. My whole family was looking sad. Rosalie and Emmett were sitting next to each other; both of them had their head in their hands, Mom and Dad kept exhaling slowly, looking like they were blowing out birthday candles, and Alice and Jasper started nervously playing with each other's fingers while Seth kept tapping the table and bouncing his feet on the ground.

After a few minutes of silence, Annie came bouncing over, a book in one hand, her plastic container of salad in the other. "Hey guys! What's up, why are you all… so… quiet?"

She became very quiet and I looked up at her, touching her arm with my hand. "Annie we need to talk," I said sweetly, trying to smile at her even though I was almost on the brink of tears.

Annie's face went slack. "Who's 'we'?" she said, her voice shaking.

I looked around the table, a pleading look on my face. "Uh, all of us," Dad said, his voice cheerful. Annie looked like she relaxed a little. "Have a seat, Athena."

She laughed quietly and sat down, putting her things on the table. She looked around at everyone and got a very surprised look on her face. "Oh, hi, Seth. What are you doing here?"

Everyone looked at the ground. Finally, after what seemed to be the longest time in the history of the world, Dad spoke. "That's exactly what we want to talk to you about." She nodded, pushing her book aside and opening the carton of salad. She started eating just as Dad began to explain everything.

"Annie, I'm not really sure how to start off saying this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it." Everyone froze and I grabbed Jacob's arm, digging my nails into his skin.

"Ow, Nessie, honey, you're hurting me," he whispered softly in my ear. I still gripped his arm. After a minute, he carefully pried my fingers off his arm and kissed my temple. "I love you," he said, still whispering.

Dad smiled at us and continued. "Well, Annie, my family and I, were…. Not normal."

Annie raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean you're 'not normal'?"

Dad opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. This is when Emmett took charge. "Well, Annie," he said, leaning forward so he was only a few inches away from her face, "the Quileutes and Cullens aren't…. human, per se. We're different. Especially Nessie."

I bit down hard on the insides of my cheeks to stop from saying anything while Annie looked at me. I just smiled, trying to be reassuring. When she spoke, her voice was shaky and scared. "If you're not human, what are you?"

I sucked in a breath through my nose, still biting my cheeks. Dad let out a deep breath. "Well, the Quileutes are…. Werewolves…. We Cullens are…. Vampires…. And Renesmee is…. Half human half vampire."

At that second, Annie burst out laughing. "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!" she managed to say between laughs. "Seriously, guys, that was good." We all kept our faces serious and when Annie saw this, her face fell. "That can't be possible."

Dad nodded. "Oh, contraire. We are what we tell you."

Annie got sucked in then. "Tell me more," she said excitedly. "Tell me everything about you guys."

Everyone smiled at her excited-ness, and to then, Dad began. "Well, let me start off with the vampires," he said as if he was an old man telling a bunch of children a thrilling story.

"Now, let's see. Well, we're very fast. We can run so quickly that we're hardly seen." Annie scooted in closer. "Here, let me show you." Then, in less than three seconds, Dad was sitting next to Annie with a crooked grin on his face and Emmett was smiling triumphantly in Dad's old seat. She gasped, clapping her hands together like a five year old.

"That was so cool!" she squealed. "What else can you guys do?"

Rosalie made a devilish smile that spread across her face. "We're so strong, we can life cars like they weigh as much as a feather and knocking a tree down would take as much force as it would to push someone down, if you didn't have the strength that we do." Annie's eyes grew wide. "Oh, yeah," Rosalie said, leaning on her elbows and placing her head in her hands.

Mom rolled her eyes. "We don't eat anything a human would eat. Only, and this sounds totally gross, only blood." Annie froze. Mom laughed. "Don't worry. Only some vampires drink human blood. The others, drink animal blood." She winked at Annie. "Don't worry. You're safe."

Annie relaxed, than her face got a look of realization on it. "But, I've seen you all eat. You've had food and you drink from water bottles," she said, almost accusingly.

Dad sighed, smiling. "But really think about it Annie. Have you ever actually seen us eat the food that was in front of us?" She shook her head. "And, the water bottles… well…"

Jasper unscrewed the cap to his black water bottle and held it out to Annie. "Oh." We all laughed. "Well, than what about Nessie? I've seen her eat actual food."

Dad bit his lip. "We'll get to Nessie in a minute. One story at a time."

Annie nodded. "Alright…"

Alice giggled girlishly. "And some of us even have our own powers." Annie's forehead creased. "For instance, I can see the future…"

"I can read minds…."

"I can feel emotions of others…."

"I have a protection force field…."

"And I can show you images in your mind…." I said, finishing the list of family powers.

Annie did a coy smile. "Show me," she said to all of us.

Dad laughed. "Okay, think of something." Annie squinted her eyes shut and held her hands in fists by her head. "You got something?" She nodded. "Alright, Athena, here we go." We all waited. "No, they don't."

We all made faces of confusion. "What?" I said, leaning against Jacob.

Annie shook her head, amazed. "That… Was cool." Dad shrugged. "Now you, Alice. Can you read my future?"

Alice didn't answer. Her eyes were looking toward space and she had a dazed look on her face. After a minute, she snapped out of it. "You're going to freak out when we tell you something later, just to warn you." Annie's eyebrow went up. "I'd tell you what it was about but I can't. Edward would kill me," she said, smiling.

Annie nodded wisely and looked over at Jasper. He sighed. "Alright, now don't be alarmed if you suddenly feel calm, okay?" She nodded and a few seconds later, her body went limp and a look of relaxation washed over her face. After thirty seconds, she went back to normal. "Hmm, you felt excited, but a little scared about all the information you are getting at this moment. A fine combination, and typical for someone like you. You're much like Bella."

Mom smiled and reached across the table to hug Jasper. "Thank you, Jazz."

Then Annie looked at me. "Now you."

I sat there for a minute. "Well, what do you want to see?"

She thought for a minute, than smiled. "Your birthday party."

I smiled, shrugged and touched the back of her hand, shifting the memories I had of my birthday party into her head; the dressing up, walking out of the house in fake slow motion, Jake asking me to be his girlfriend, and sneaking around the floor secret agent style. I left out the part with Claire, not wanting to bring down the moment of Annie being so excited about all of this.

Her eyes got wide and she stared at me, amazed. "That was so cool!" she said, squeezing my hand. I laughed, squeezing her fingers back, only carefully. "So, what else can vampires do?"

Emmett sighed and switched places with Dad again. "Well, we don't have a heart beat." Annie's face fell sad as Emmett pulled her head toward his chest, where his heart was. When the side of her head touched his shirt, she flinched away from the cold only for a second before pressing her head to his chest. "You're very cold, too," she said, clasping his hand between her own.

We all sighed, including Jacob and Seth. She sat up straight. "But what about Nessie? She eats, and is warm."

Dad did a small smile. "Well, let's get on to her, than."

Emmett caught a laugh. "That's what he said," he whispered in my ear.

I bit my lips and covered my mouth with my hand, trying to drown a laugh. Dad glared at Emmett. "Not funny." Emmett smirked at him and Dad reached across the tale to punch his arm. "Renesmee, would you like to tell her?" he asked, giving me the 'Dad' look; raised eyebrows, amused smile on his face, the whole shebang.

I nodded. "Uh, yeah, sure." I turned to Annie. "So, I guess I should start off with my parents…" I heard Mom's breath catch, even though neither breathing or catching it was necessary.

Annie smiled slightly at me. "Who are your parents?" I looked at Mom and Dad. "Edward and Bella are your parents?" she shrieked, her eyes widening.

The whole family laughed, including me. "I guess the other thing we should have mentioned about vampires is that they don't age. We have all looked seventeen or eighteen for quite some time now," Dad said, squeezing Mom's hand.

"Oh, well, then, never mind," she said, pushing loose strands of hair behind her ear.

I smiled, continuing. "Well, my dad had met my mother when she was new to Forks High School and after a while, he told her about them, the vampires I mean, and soon they got together. Skipping ahead a lot, they got married after about a year and, um, they…. Yeah…"

Annie grimaced. "Spare me the details," she said, holding her hands in front of herself.

I laughed dryly. "No problem. Anyway, the thing was, my mom was still human, and when she became pregnant, they didn't believe it. But my granddad, the guy who was portraying my dad," I said, refreshing her memory of Carlisle, "said she was pregnant and the baby was half vampire half human, A.K.A., what I am."

She nodded. "And what are you exactly?"

I laughed. "Well, I'm pretty much like other vampires, except my eye color is like a humans, I can eat actual food, I'm not icy cold and I have a heartbeat." She nodded. "So, back to the story… While I was growing, like, five times faster than a normal baby, my dad was convinced I was killing my mother because I was drinking her blood and persuaded Jacob to tell my mother to let them kill me. Isn't that pleasant and oh so very fatherly?" Annie laughed along with Mom while Dad glared at me and Jacob squeezed my shoulders lovingly. I tilted my head back to look at him and he kissed my forehead.

"So, anyway, while Jacob was telling the Quileute tribe that they should kill me and what not, my father became attached because he could read my mind while I was still in my mother's stomach. Weird right?" She nodded. "Exactly. So, then Jacob got all mad and stuff, but, and mind you I am skipping through many things my parents told me, I was born, Jacob imprinted on me, Dad turned my mother into a vampire and now, we're on to the werewolves," I said, silently laughing inside my head and leaning against Jacob. "Seth, Jake, go for it."

They both sighed, then Jacob began. "Well, the Quileute tribe is brought down many generations-"

Emmett groaned, interrupting Jake as we switched places with Seth so the two wolves could be sitting next to her. . "Oh, for the love of God," he complained. "We don't need the Death Angel story. Just tell her what werewolves are and what they do."

Jake glared at him, but shrugged. "Alright, let's see. We're werewolves, right? We can shift our bodies into the form of a wolf. According to people who have seen it, it's pretty cool."

Annie's face lit up for the millionth time today. "Could you show me sometime?"

Jacob's face became skeptical. "Mm, maybe. I'll think about it." Annie smiled, shrugged and leaned on her elbows, listening to more of the story. "So, yeah. That's pretty much it except we're really hot, in both temperature and looks." Annie and I burst out laughing. I'd never heard Jake say that before, but thinking about it, t was insanely true. "Oh, and, as long as we keep phasing, which is changing ourselves into werewolves, we'll never age."

Annie nodded. "Now, Nessie mentioned something about imprinting. What exactly is that?"

Jake smiled. "Well, I guess you could call it love at first sight, which is basically what it is. We see someone, then it feels like no one else in the world exists except for that one person and you want to spend your whole life with that one human being. It's like you're tied to them forever. You never want to leave their side and you feel like you need to worship them."

Annie nodded again. She seemed to be doing that a lot. Nodding and smiling. I guess she's got nothing else to really do. After a minute of silence, she spoke. "So, why are you guys telling me all of this?"

That's when we all fell silent and you could see a bit of color rise is Seth's cheeks. "That's why Seth's here," I said quietly. I saw Alice reach her hand under the table and squeeze his hand. Annie raised one eyebrow at me. "Well, we told you bout vampires and me and werewolves and about what the werewolves do…. So the reason we told you…. And the reason Seth's here…."

Annie's chin began to quiver. She bit her lips, but her chin was still vibrating. Her forehead creased together while her hand was slapped over her mouth. "You mean….?" she said, her words muffled from her hand being in the way. She looked at Seth who was staring shamefully at the ground. "I…. But…. This…." She reached her arms out to Seth, like a five year old reaching out for her mother or father.

Seth turned to her, let Alice's hand go and wrapped his arms carefully around her tiny waist. Annie jumped at the shock from his touch and I definitely knew that she could know feel the lust and passion through the connection of werewolves and their imprints. She began to bawl into his shoulder, herarms secured tightly around his neck. "Shh, Annie, shh," he said, rubbing her back and cupping the back of her head in his giant hand.

I looked around the cafeteria and thanked the Lord that Kyle wasn't in here for lunch today. If he was, well, frankly, lunch would have been a disaster.  
~*~

Chapter Fifteen:

'Exactly, Renesmee, that's it! You'll never understand! You're just a child!'

After lunch, Annie went home 'sick' so she and Seth could talk more and get to know each other, despite Dad's strong order's to not. They did it anyway. Before they left, she gave me a huge hug. "Thank you so much, Nessie."

I hugged her back. "So, what are you going to do about Kyle?" I said, pushing my bangs out of my face and looking at her hopefully.

She sighed. "Well, I, uh, actually already told him." I raised my eyebrows at her. She nodded. "Yeah, I saw him in the hall while I was with Seth and he asked for an explanation, so I gave him one."

Her lip started to quiver. I pulled her into another hug. "Listen to me, Annie. Being an imprint is totally worth it. I would know." She looked at me. "They make you feel so important, even when you think you're not, and they will always love you."

"Always?"

I saw Seth come up behind her. "Always," he said, pulling her into a hug and kissing her hair. "We should probably go."

She nodded. "Yeah, we should. Nessie, would you mind getting my homework for me, please?" Her eyes were so pleading, I couldn't resist, so I nodded. "Thanks, you're a doll."

Then they left, hand in hand, out the double doors of the school. I sighed and turned around, heading off toward the math room. I walked in and looked to my seat, and the one next to it. Kyle's chair was empty. The usual mess of books across the table and _my _chair was gone, as if it vanished and had never been there before. I felt my stomach drop immediately as I sat down and pulled out my planner, copying down the homework. It was just so abnormally quiet.

That's how the whole class was. Silent. There weren't any inappropriate jokes or remarks, no spit balls flung at the teacher's head, no whispering, and most of all, no laughing. The room was so empty. I couldn't pay attention. Whenever I was asked a question, I just shook my head and went back to my class work. I didn't even know why I felt like this. Maybe, I did miss Kyle. He did make me laugh during class and without that, I felt, what's the word? Dead.

"Renesmee!"

I looked up from my paper to see my teacher standing in front of me. "Uh, yes?" I said, fumbling for two easy words.

He looked at me disapprovingly. "See me after class. I want to have a talk with you."

I nodded as he walked away and jumped in my seat when my phone started to buzz. I opened my eyes widely and started rummaging around in it. The bag was on my lap so it was easy to pull out my phone and look at the message.

_If you get a detention, you are grounded. _

_~Dad_

I rolled my eyes and pressed reply.

_Dad, don't get your panties in a knot, okay? That's what Mom is for. _

_~Renesmee_

I felt incredibly grossed out at my own comment but I knew it would get him pissed off. Thirty seconds later, I got a reply.

_Never mind. You don't need a detention for a grounding. I hope you don't have any plans for the weekend. _

_~Dad_

_Oh, you are so annoying. _

_~Renesmee_

_I know, but you're disrespectful. _

_~Dad_

_Dad, I do have plans. Come on, please?_

_~Renesmee _

_Renesmee… _

_~Dad_

_Okay, okay, don't bite my head off oh fabulous wonderful father. I'm sorry. _

_~Renesmee_

_I accept your apology. _

_~Dad_

I sighed and dropped my phone back in my bag. Then, it vibrated again.

_You're still grounded. _

_~Dad_

I angrily shoved my phone in my bag, along with my work, just as the bell rang. I went up to the teacher's desk. "You wanted to talk to me, Mr. Lucas?"

He nodded. "Yes, Renesmee, have a seat." As I sat down, I saw Dad in the window of the door. I waved him away. "So, Renesmee, where are you today?"

I looked at him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lucas, I really am. I've just been so busy with school work, and home, it's just… I'm sorry."

He nodded his head, as if he would ever understand. "I see Renesmee. Is there anything I can help you with?" _Sure, Mr. Lucas, you can help. Tell me what I should do if my boyfriend's best friend imprinted on a human so we had to tell her everything about vampires and werewolves and halvsies like me, then my best friend had to break up with her ex-current boyfriend, who is the boy missing from your class today. What might one do in that certain situation?, _I thought to myself, gripping the strap to my shoulder bag. "Well, Renesmee, anything I can help with?"

I shook my head. "No, Mr. Lucas, I don't think so. But thank you."

He nodded. "Alright, Renesmee, you can go."

I shot up from my seat and practically flew out the door. On the way to my car, I ran into Dad. "I heard your conversation with your teacher, Miss Renesmee."

I looked at him. "I figured you would." I unlocked my car door and tossed my bag into it.

Dad nodded. "Well, you're un-grounded and, uh, maybe you want to pay a visit to that guy, right over there." He pointed to the court yard, where Kyle was sitting on the asphalt, his back against the cold brick school. Dad tapped my nose. "But don't do anything stupid."

With that, he headed toward the Volvo and climbed inside. After he drove away, I walked over to Kyle and sat down next to him. "Hi," I said quietly, leaning against the school.

He nodded his head once and looked at me. His eyes were sad and shiny. "Hi." We sat in silence for a minute. "So, I'm guessing you know, then?"

I knew he was talking about the break up. I sighed. "Uh, yeah, yeah I do. I'm so sorry, Kyle."

He sighed. "It's alright, I mean-" His voice broke before he let his head fall into my lap. "I just saw her and-"

Without thinking, I began to stroke his hair. "Listen, Kyle, I don't know what to tell you, here, but I know one thing that always makes me feel better after a break up." Of course I was completely lying since I'd never been out with anyone before, or broken up with someone, but anything to make him stop feeling to crappy. "Greasy French-fries and Cookies'n'Cream ice cream."

He sat up. "And where would we get those?"  
~*~

"Go ahead. Order," I said, pointing to the window. Kyle and I had walked to Benson's, the little diner down the street from school. At this moment, we were next in line and it was time for Kyle to order. "Go," I said, pushing him up to the window.

"Hello, welcome to Benson's, how may I help you today?" the cheery window woman said.

Kyle sighed. "Could we have an order of large fries and two Cookies'n'Cream ice cream cones please?" he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

The girl nodded and in less than five minutes, she handed us one of those red and white checkered card board boxes that was stuffed with fries and two ice cream cones. When Kyle reached into his back pocket, I stopped him. "No, I got it." He looked at me, unsure, but I just handed the woman a ten and told her to keep the change.

As we started walking, eating the fries and licking at the ice cream, we started talking about everything. Forks, his parent's beach house in Cuba, my fifth birthday trip to Jamaica with Emmett, his old basketball team, everything. Even our favorite toothpaste. That one was a little bizarre, but I did learn that he's loved Kid's Colgate toothpaste since he was four. That got me laughing.

"What?" I shook my head. "Are you laughing at me because I like a kid's toothpaste?" I nodded. "Well, what toothpaste do you like?"

I stopped laughing. "I like Colgate, the red, white and blue kind. Not the kiddy kind."

He glared at me. "Well, aren't you little miss mature."

I nodded. "Yes, yes, I am," I said, as he slipped his hand through mine. I didn't know what to do, so I just held his hand back. The guy needed comforting, after all. It was a little quiet after that, than I dared to ask the one question that had been nagging at the back of my mind. "So, would you mind telling me what happened?"

He sighed. "Well, I walk walking to math when I walked up behind them. His arm was around her waist and she ad her head resting on his arm. He was too tall for her to reach his shoulder. Then, I heard her laughing and he kissed her forehead, so I grabbed her arm and asked what was going on. Then she said, 'Um, Kyle, there's something I want to tell you. This is Seth and um, well, I'm sorry, Kyle. It's over.'" I noticed we were walking up my driveway as I blinked back tears. "So, then I walked out the front doors and sat where you found me for the whole last period, and, uh, yeah. That pretty much fills you in."

We stopped on the front porch and I turned to face him. "Kyle, I'm sorry. I really am."

He shrugged. "I'll be okay. You were right, fries and ice cream really does help." I lifted my hands I the air as if guilty. "So, yeah, thank you Renesmee. You were really nice to me, even though I don't deserve it."

I tilted my head to the side. "Yes, you do," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. He stood there awkwardly for a minute, rubbing his arm. "You miss her, don't you?" He nodded, a tear falling from his eye. My heart felt a surge of sorrow for him and before I could comprehend what I was doing, I wrapped one arm around his neck and the other around his waist, giving him a sort of sideways hug.

I didn't look to see who it was when a car pulled up the driveway. I just held onto Kyle. I kissed his cheek and stroked his hair, rocking back and forth slightly. "Shh, it's okay." There was the sound of a car door slamming shut and I was so startled, I yanked away from him. I froze when I saw Jacob standing two feet away from us, my book bag in on hand, my car keys in the other. "Hi, Jacob," I said quietly.

He didn't say anything to me. He just glared at Kyle. "I think you should go now, Jones," he said, his voice low and serious.

Kyle gave him two thumbs up and kissed my cheek, giving me one last thank you before trudging down the drive way. "What the hell was that?" Jacob shouted as soon as Kyle was out of ear shot.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Jacob kept going. "I arrive here and I see you hugging him, and kissing his cheek."

"Jacob," I said, my voice high and clippie. "I was comforting him. Annie broke up with him and he was upset."

"And you don't think Annie was upset?"

I rolled my eyes. "She has Seth. He doesn't have anyone." Jacob snorted. "Jacob, she's happy with Seth, already and she only found out less than three hours ago. Kyle was dumped and is happy with no one. He needed some comfort, like I said."

Jacob glared and me and started storming off to his house after he'd thrown my bag and key to the ground. I followed him. When he reached the house, I plowed in and blocked his way. "Get out of my face, Nessie," he said, shoving past me. I grabbed his arm. "Let. Me. Go." His voice was dark.

I let his arm go, but stared at him. "Jacob, what is your problem?" I said, looking him deeply in the eyes.

He stared back. "My problem is, you were on the porch, hugging and kissing a guy who's not me."

I lost it then. I'd explained it to him before, I didn't like Kyle that way. "Jacob Black, what has gotten into you? When are you going to get it through your thick head that I'm not in love with Kyle. I love you."

He laughed, amused. "Sure doesn't seem that way anymore."

"Well, with the way you're talking, you're making it a possibility," I said, pushing his chest. "I don't know what your problem is, but it had better stop!" I was shouting now, and Jacob got more and more angry with every word that came out of my mouth.

"Listen, Renesmee, you're walking with Kyle, hugging Kyle, kissing his cheek, and I don't like it. One. Single. Bit."

I let out a harsh breath. "And why not!"

"Because I have a feeling there's something up with this Kyle. He's… Different. I don't want you hanging around him any more."

My mouth fell open. "Who are you, my father? You can't tell me who I can go around hanging out with."

"Yes, I can, Renesmee. You're mine. You belong to me."

I stared at him. "I don't belong to anyone, Jacob. I am a free woman. You can't tell me what to do."

"Yes, I can."

I ran my tongue across the front of my teeth and took one swing, slapping him in the face. "No. You. Can't!"

He clenched his hands into fists. "Yes, I can, and don't think I can't."

"Jacob, just because you managed to get a ring on my finger doesn't mean you can control me."

He laughed once. "Fine, you don't want the ring, give it back." He held his hand out for the ring but I didn't do anything. "You don't want me to control you, give it back."

I still didn't do anything. "Wait a minute, are you breaking up with me?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Are you giving back the ring?"

I froze, trying to go over everything that had just happened. "Wait a minute," I said quietly. "I don't understand."

"Exactly, Renesmee, that's it! You'll never understand! You're just a child! You don't understand jealousy, loyalty, love! You're only thirteen."

Those words hit me. Hard. "Well, if I don't understand those things and if I am such a child, then maybe we shouldn't be together." I ripped the ring from my finger and placed it in his out stretched hand.

Tears started to fall from my eyes as I headed for his front door. "No, Nessie, wait, you know I didn't mean it." He ran in front of me and tried to give me a hug. I pushed him away. "You can't seriously be breaking up with me." More tears fell from my eyes as tears started to fall from his. "It can't seriously be over between us." I sniffed.

"Then how come it is?"

**Review? **


	9. Chapter 16&17&18

**Oh my giddy gumdrops. People I'm soooo sorry it took like forever! First, I had another freaking case of writer's block, then my computer decided to die on me and I didn't know it worked. So yeah, that's why it's been like a month since I last updated. Here's chapter Sixteen! **

Chapter Sixteen:

Most of The Time, I'm Suffering

I opened my eyes, seeing only blackness. It was then I realized that my face was pressing into my pillows. I felt like closing them again but knew that I had to get up. I started to debate whether I should do what I knew I needed to. In the end, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

After what seemed to be five seconds, I felt someone poking my side. "Come on, chick pea. Wakey, wakey!" I opened my eyes and saw Alice standing next to my bed. "We're going shopping."

I groaned. "I'm staying right here," I said, pulling the covers over my head. "Go away."

Suddenly, the warm covers were off my body and I felt freezing. "Nope. Get your blood pumping. Get out of bed, take a shower, put clothes on —clean clothes— and meet me and Rosalie in the Porsche. We're leaving in fifteen minutes and if you're not ready then, we're taking you to the mall as you are. Chop, chop."

I sat up and glared at my aunt. Despite the fact that vampires never get cold, she was wearing dark skinny jeans, a black mid-thigh length pea coat, and a light blue scarf. A dark purple leather bag hung off her shoulder and her hair was pulled back by a headband. I looked at her. Her face was lit up like the lights hanging around my room and with a small squeal, she ran out of the room and I clambered out of bed.

I looked at my calendar, checking the date and my eyes widened at how time had flied. It was the first of November. It had been three weeks since… since… that day. Tears sprung to my eyes and I wiped them away, grabbing a towel and going through my closet to my bathroom. When the water was running and I was undressed, I stepped in and let the shower beat down on my head. It was hot and there was steam curling around my body. My hair began to hang down near the small of my back as it got longer from the water running through it and my bangs began to stick to my forehead, but I ignored the itch to wipe them away and concentrated on getting ready so Alice didn't bite my head off.

After I'd washed my body and hair, I began to squirt shaving gel in the palm of my hand, tears began to flow to my eyes subconsciously. They dripped down my face along with the water drops. When I went to wipe them away, I smeared the shaving cream across my cheeks, which made me cry even more, though it wasn't such a big deal and I ended up curled in a ball on the floor of my tub.

The water was still beating down and though they were soft, it felt like a million little needles were being poked into my skin. An ache broke into my heart as I recalled his harsh and unyielding words. As they ran through my mind, the tears came harder and faster. _"Exactly, Renesmee, that's it! You'll never understand! You're just a child!" _I cried out, hugging my torso and burying my face in my elbows as best I could. My cries came out in choked sobs, my throat aching every time sound came out of me. It almost felt as if someone was tearing out my heart, this unnamable pain and aching surrounding me, making my body tense and my cries shrill.

Soon, I heard the bathroom door open, as well as the shower one. The needles in my body stopped as the water was shut off and was replaced with my warm towel. My cries grew quieter and more into a whine as I was lifted out of the tub and I felt my father's cold arms and hands cradling me to him. I turned my face into his chest, my tears and hair soaking the soft cloth.

I held the towel closely around me while my dad carried me to my room, one of his arms looped around my back near my shoulder blades, the other curled under my knees. He set me down on my bed and I heard him rustling through my dresser drawers. He came back shortly and began to help me get dressed, or well, began to dress me. I wasn't able to move on my own, my arms and legs had gone numb.

The first thought that came to my head was, _No, Daddy, stop. It's weird. _

He laughed. "Please, Renesmee. I've seen this plenty of times before."

The next thought I had was, _Ew. _

The response? "I've been dressing you when you were upset since you were out of the womb, love. I promise I won't look, if it bothers you that much." I nodded, tears streaming down my face again. "Okay, ready? Lift up your arms." I did. A t-shirt was then slipped over my head and I cried out in relief when it wasn't one of Jacob's. "You're welcome, love," he said, which was then followed by a "Stand up." When I tried, I felt to the ground, my knees buckling then making a 'thump' noise as they hit the hard wood floor.

My dad let out a hearty laugh and picked up, slipping on a pair of sweatpants on me in the process. Then he picked me up off the floor and carried me back to my bed, pulling the silk sheets back up over me. A small kiss was placed on my temple and he gave me a hug. "I'll tell Alice that you can't go shopping and you'll go with them tomorrow. I love you, Renesmee," he said, before closing the door behind him.  
~*~

When I woke up three hours later, the sky was dark and I could see the stars through my window. The bedside lamp I had was on and there was a note leaning against the base of the light.

I reached for it and ripped open the stiff envelope. The card on the inside had Chief Charles Swan. I sucked in a breath and flipped the card open. Some money fell out but I paid no attention to it and just read what was writing in Grandpa Charlie's messy but legible handwriting.

_Dear Renesmee, _

_I am sorry for missing your birthday party. I'll be with you and your family later this year, for the holidays. There's some money for you, but I'll have a better present when I come for Christmas. _

_I love you. _

_Grandpa Charlie_

I smiled and tucked the letter away in the drawer of the night stand and picked up the money, placing it on my bookshelf before slowly walking across my room and opening the door. The hallways were dimly lit as I walked down them, the cold marble seeping through the socks that had magically appeared on my feet, as I didn't remember my dad putting them on me three hours before. I started to descend down the stairs and in the process, I heard Emmett and Jasper fighting. Over when I didn't know. Yet.

What it ended up they were fighting over was the remote. I saw the TV constantly changing channels from the grip each of them had on the stupid hunk of plastic. Every once and a while, there was a punch at the face, a knee in the stomach or an elbow to the chest. I rolled my eyes and went over to them, wedging my fingers through theirs and pulling the remote away.

"One, you guys are so immature. Two, you're going to break the remote if you keep fighting over it like you just were."

Emmett looked at me and grinned. "Well, look who finally emerged from the deep, dark cave," he said, giving me a hug. "I don't think I've seen you in about three weeks.

"Try two Emmett. You brought her the sandwich she never ended up eating and Seth did, remember?" Jasper said, pushing my hair out of my face and kissing my cheek. "But it's nice to see you, Renesmee. I feel like I haven't talked to you in a long while, sugar pie." My chin started to wobble and Jasper's face got a fast look of shock. "No, don't cry. I'd love to have a chat with you after you've eaten, though. It's important."

I nodded, climbing up onto Emmett's back. "Yeah, okay. Sure, Jazz." He smiled at me as Emmett piggy backed me out of the room and to the kitchen, where Esme was waiting. "Hi, Grandma!" I said, joking around with her.

"Ugh, please don't call me that! It's makes me sound old!" she said, throwing her hands up in the air and joking back.

Emmett laughed. "You are old, Mom." She glared at him. "We all are."

He put me down and kissed her cheek as he walked past, going to find Rosalie, who was calling him. Esme lightly hit his arm as he did so. "So, sweetheart, what would you like to eat? I'll cook you anything you want."

I sighed. "I want blood," I said, laughing to myself when I realized how gruesome that must have sounded.

She sighed. "Renesmee, eat real food!" I shook my head and went to the fridge, opening the door. "You won't find anything in there."

I smiled and grabbed one of my school water bottles that was filled with the thick, red liquid. "Wrong." I held it up in front of her face. "Haha, the joy of having liquid-y goodness at my fingertips."

Esme glared at me but shrugged, kissing my cheek before walking out to her office. I hopped up on the kitchen counter and sat there sucking at my water bottle. It must have been at least ten minutes before my dad came idling into the room, stopping in front of me. He slowly turned his head as if this was the first time he'd seen me sitting on the counter.

I put down my water bottle and hopped off the marble counter, throwing my arms around his middle, burying my face in his shirt. "Thank you," I said, the words muffled by the soft fabric.

He hugged me tightly and kissed my hair. "You're welcome, love. You're welcome."  
~*~

Chapter Seventeen:

What I Hate Most About Jacob Is That He's Right Most of The Time

I sat in the living room, curled up on the couch, with a book and a mug of hot chocolate. It'd been completely quiet in the house, since everyone was out.

I was enjoying myself until Jacob came bouncing into the house, calling Claire's name. "Claire? Where are you?"

"She's not here," I said, not processing who it was until they came walking into the room. "She's…" I looked up. "Oh, hi."

My words were quiet as I closed my book and placed it on the table. "Hi. I was just, um, looking for Claire."

"Well, like I said, she's not here."

He nodded, then looked at the ground. "Is Seth here?" I shook my head. "Quil?"

"Nope."

He laughed once. "Well, is anyone here except you?" I shook my head. "Where are they all?"

"I don't know, they're out."

"Out where?"

"I don't know, Jake! Just out!" I screamed, not knowing the reason for my screaming.

He held his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay, no need to shout." I nodded once and opened my book again, continuing where I'd left off. "Hey, Nessie, about what happened before… I'm, um, I'm sorry…"

I looked up at him, flicking my bangs out of the way. "Forget about it, Jake. You said what you needed to say. I know the truth about you now. Just drop it."

He took a step toward me. "But, Nessie, I… It's just that. I… I love you. So much and I can't lose you."

Tears welled up in my eyes and I wiped them away as they fell down my cheeks. "Well, you did." I got up and tried to go into Carlisle's office, where no one was allowed, but I knew that Jacob wouldn't dare go in there because Carlisle would know from the smell. He grabbed my arm tightly. "Jacob," I said in a cold and low voice. "Let me go."

"No, Renesmee, I want to talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about. All the talking is done. You said that I would never be able to understand love, loyalty, jealousy and now you can't have what I do understand. You can't have me at all." I looked him in the eyes as best I could before he stepped forward, closing the space between us and pressed him mouth firmly against mine. In the first five seconds of the kiss, I lost myself, dropping the book on the floor and wrapping my arms around his neck. His hands wound around my back, one resting on the small of my back and the twisting through my hair. A moan escaped me as I pressed myself against his body. Then I realized what I was doing. I pushed myself away. "No, Jacob, no. You can't do that. One, it's cheating. Two, I don't want you. Not when you say something like that to me."

"No, but, Nessie, I didn't mean it."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Oh, yeah, like I'm going to believe that," I said, picking up my book and crossing my arms over my chest.

"Just, come here," he said pulling at my arm.

I yanked away and hit his face. "No, Jacob. I don't want you anymore. I don't, just leave me alone."

"No." I glared at him. "No, I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me that you don't love me anymore. Tell me that and I'll leave you alone. Forever, I promise. Just tell me you don't love me."

I opened my mouth, ready to say what he was telling me to, but nothing came out. Absolutely nothing.  
~*~

Chapter Eighteen

Many Cute Outfits on Many Cute Girls

I was sitting in the living room, near the heater, with a mug of sweet tea in one hand and a book in the other. It had been a few days since I had had my little encounter with Jacob and he was true to his word. He won't go away until I tell him I don't love him… Which I will… Eventually…

Anyway…

I was minding my own business when Jasper came flouncing into the room. "Nessie?" he said quietly, nudging my knee with his. I looked up, flicking my hair out of my face. "Uh, I never got to talk to you about the think that was very important…"

I smiled. "Oh, right. Sure, Jazz. Have a seat." I scooted over on the small love couch, patting the seat next to me. He sat. "What's going on?" I said, running my hand through my hair.

He sighed. "Okay, so you know how, before, when you and Jacob had your first date?" I nodded, not sure where he was taking this. "And then at the dance I said I wasn't sure I could be near you because of the way you smelled?" Again, I nodded. "Well, I want to try harder. I see how everyone else is around you, so close in proximity and they're hugging you and playing games with you, Emmett even gives you piggy back rides… And I'm just saying, I want to do that too…"

I smiled. "You want to give me piggy back rides, Jasper?" I said, teasing him slightly.

He growled. "No, damn it, Nessie!" he said, adjusting himself on the couch and running his fingers through his hair. "Please pay attention."

I laughed. "Okay, sorry. I'll be serious."

He nodded. "Thank you. Now, what I'm saying is, I want to be the people who play around with you, make jokes with you. Renesmee, I want to be able to hug you and not want to…"

"Eat me…" I said, finishing his sentence for him. He nodded. "Well, I don't want you to feel like you have to be close to me. You can be the favorite, distant uncle. The one who loves me from afar." He narrowed his eyes and was about to argue when I interrupted him. "Jazz, look, just, get used to me. I know that you've been around my mom's scent for a while, then it was passed on to me, but I've been around you for a while too, thirteen years. If it take thirteen more for you to be able to hug me without wanting to suck the blood from my very veins then so be it."

Jasper laughed and tapped my nose with his finger. "You make me laugh, sugar," he said happily before his face fell again. "Thank you." His words were quiet, so quiet in fact that I almost asked him to say them again.

Instead, I just smiled and nodded my head once. Then, he reached his hand over and squeezed mine before getting up and walking away. I looked out the window and stared out at Jacob's house. It was all dark except for his living room, where it was only lit up from the glare the TV was giving off. I could see him sitting there, a can of root beer in his hand and his feet kicked up on his coffee table.

I got a sharp pain in my chest and I let out a choked breath, biting the insides of my cheeks to keep from crying. It didn't work. Small, pebble-sized tears rolled down my face, and fell onto the open pages of my book, smearing the words. "Oh, hell," I said, fanning out the pages and setting it up in front of the heater to it could dry.

More tears fell as I looked back out to his house, sniffing and wiping my nose. _No, Renesmee, _I thought to myself. _You broke up with him. He called out a child. You shouldn't be crying over that dog… That mongrel… That… That flee infested lump of fur. _I kept calling him obscene things, just bringing him down to make myself feel better. I knew that was wrong, but it was working. I felt better instantly.

"Hey, Nessie!" I jumped a foot in the air and turned my head to see Claire standing there, her hands placed on back as she leaned against them, sporting her _Cheerleader _sweatpants and a giant t-shirt, and I mean giant. The sleeves nearly touched her elbows and the hem went all the way to the middle of her thighs even with her baby bump in the way. "Alice told me to help you get ready. We're going shopping, since you didn't come last time," she said, smiling brightly at me.

I wiped under eyes with my thumbs and sighed, knowing there was no way out of this one. I took her hand, running up the stairs to my room. "Okay, torture me," I said, following her into my closet and flopping onto the couch.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Come on, Nessie, shopping isn't that bad and neither is getting dressed. In fact, most people put clothes on so people won't think they're freaks."

I gasped sarcastically. "No, really? And I thought I was following the flow." Claire laughed. "Well, I guess I should make the best of this. Besides Alice and Rose, you're the best dresser I know, so… Beautify me!"

And she did. Claire instantly grabbed this while sweater dress thing and tugged it over my head. "Yes, yes, I like this," she mumbled to herself. "But shoes… shoes… shoes…" She spotted a pair of tan boots. "Shoes!" she said, pointing to them, then throwing them at my face. "Put these on when I go get changed. I'll be back in about… I don't know when I'll be back actually." She walked out and I just sat there, laughing. Claire popped her head back in. "Why don't you just come with me?" she said, grabbing my hand and the boots and towing my down the hall to the room she was staying in.

"I'll just sit here and put on my boots," I said sarcastically as she just left me standing in the middle of the room when she went to the armoire in the corner of the room.

"Mm-hmm," Claire mumbled, not paying attention. She pulled a long button up t-shirt out, along with a black sweater about the same length, black pants and black t-strap heels out and tossed them on the bed. "So, how are you?" she said as she started to undress then put on the clothes.

I was startled by the question and I caught my finger in the zipper. "Ow, crap. Wait, what?"

She did the last button to her shirt and looked at me. "How are you?" Her words were slow, like she was talking to someone who had just gotten amnesia. "I mean, you and Jacob broke up. You guys were, like, soul mates and now you're apart. How does it feel?" I looked at her, dumbstruck. "I mean, when Quil wouldn't talk to me because I was pregnant, I thought I was hurting then, but if he had actually left me, or I him, I would have been crushed," she said, slipping her feet into the shoes and doing up the buckles.

I bit my lip. "Well, to tell the truth, it was completely painful at first, but then when I realized that he thought I was a child and he didn't think I could understand love and jealously and all those feelings you get when you're with your soul mate, I found that I'm better off without him," I said, thinking s_tupid bastard_ while Claire put on her sweater and grabbed a red purse out of her armoire. "Anyway, where are Rosalie and Alice?"

She smiled and grabbed my hand, dragging me down the stairs and to the garage. Rosalie was lying on a tarp, her black boots showing from under Alice's Porsche. "Is it broken?" Alice said, her hands clasped on either side of her face. Rosalie slid out, giving her a look saying, 'You have got to be kidding me.' Alice sighed. "What I mean is, can you fix it?"

Rosalie snorted. "Of course I can fix it. I'm Rosalie Hale. The only problem is, you won't be able to drive if for a few weeks…" she said, trailing off.

Alice laughed. "That's not a problem. As long as you fix it before the end of the year, I'm fine." I looked at Alice in her black jeans, gray rain jacket, flat bottom boots and purple scarf, standing there like a little lost puppy, scared for her car. "Nessie! You're ready!" She looked me up and down. "Nice outfit. Claire, you too. You guys look really cute!" she squealed, grabbing Claire's hand and squeezing it. "Are you guys ready to go?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we're ready." I saw Emmett and Jasper running around the front year, tossing a football around. "Let's go."

Rosalie stood up, brushing off her clothes. She had her jeans tucked into her boots and she was wearing a button down shirt over a black tank top and a tap leather jacket to complete the look. Oh, and her classic unneeded sunglasses. She always had sunglasses, even if it was pouring rain outside. "Okay, let's get out of here. There's a new pair of heels at Jimmy Choo and I need them, like it's essential to have these shoes." We all raised out eyebrows at her. "You'll understand when you see them."

We all walked out of the garage and to the driveway. "Careful guys, there's ice," Rosalie said, quickly running to the M3 without even slipping once.

Alice was just as graceful but Claire and I had out troubles. Heels and ice did not mix. Thankfully, Claire didn't fall. I was afraid she would loose her footing and fall forward, hurting the baby. She didn't, obviously. When I finally made it safely to the car after lots of sliding around on the ice for fun, we tore out of the drive way and onto the road, heading for the mall.


	10. Chapter 19&20&21

**Just go with it... :)**

Chapter Nineteen:

Decisions are Stupid… Especially Mine

"Nessie! Nessie, over here!" I walked around a rack holding maternity dresses and saw Claire standing there in an empire waist shirt, the fabric flowing gracefully over her baby bump. "Isn't it cute?" she squealed, spinning around, letting the fabric swish around.

I nodded. "Yeah, adorable actually," I said, holding her still so I could get a better look at the shirt. "It looks like it could be made by Gucci or something." Claire laughed but looked sadly at the big sign over the entrance beholding a giant GAP. "I bet Quil would _love _you in the shirt."

She gasped. "Nessie, that totally reminds me!" I looked at her, raising one eyebrow. "Quil said he was taking me somewhere special tonight. He said to dress as if I was meeting celebrities or something along those lines." I raised my other eyebrow. "Nessie!" she squealed, grabbing my hands and bouncing up and down. "Help me pick out a dress. Something that will look gorgeous despite this stupid baby bump."

I looked at her, but shrugged. "Why not. I love people modeling clothes for me. And who knows. I might find a few dresses I like. Let's go."

I grabbed her hand and started to pull her out of the store but she held back. "Nessie, this is the most expensive I can get," she said sorrowfully, looking around the GAP store.

I made a devilish smile. "Don't worry, babe. I'll buy you a dress."

She squealed. "Really? You will?" I nodded and thought she was going to cry. Instead she called out, "Alice, we're going to a different store!"

"Um, which one?" was called back in return.

"Ness, where are we going?"

Again, I smiled devilishly. "We'll meet you at the Jovani store at the end of the mall!" I shouted, pulling Claire out of the store as she squealed with excitement. "Okay, okay, okay!" I said once we got there, "We need to find you an empire waist dress. Luckily, Jovani carries a lot of those." She looked at me like I was crazy. "I'll show you. Follow."

Claire and I searched through the racks until we came upon a section with brightly colored dresses. "Ness? These dresses are gorgeous!" She snuck a peek at a black and white polka dotted one. "But freaking expensive! You can't buy me one. I refuse to accept any of these dresses."

I laughed once. "Claire, it's a gift to you. I want to give you one of these dresses. Quil's taking you out tonight and you need to look hot!" I said, jokingly bumping my hip against hers.

"No, Nessie. This dress costs four hundred and fifty dollars. And it's on sale!" she said, throwing her hands up in the air.

"But, Claire-"

"No, Nessie," she said, holding her hands up, stopping me. "No. I'm not going to take one. Ever."

I did a mock disappointed sigh, but then a devious smile flashed across my face just as a brilliant idea ran through my mind. "Well, why don't you try a few on, just so you have an idea of what you want," I said, taking her hand and running it over the dresses on the rack.  
~*~

"This one," she said, twirling in front of the mirror. I raised an eyebrow at her, smirking behind my hair. "It's perfect. I mean, look at the way it flows when I spin. And how, even with the baby bump, I look pretty hot!" she said, spinning around one more time before looking straight at me. "Buy it." It was an order. Another raised eyebrow. "I'm serious, Nessie. Buy it!"

"But Claire," I said over exaggeratedly, like a really bad actor, "You said you didn't want me to buy you a dress. Especially one from Jovani."

She laughed. "Yeah, I know. But I like this one. It's impossible to live without this one. I can wear it to so many things, not just out with Quil tonight. I could wear it in the summer. It's wicked light, you know that?" She was speaking so fast, if I wasn't half vampire, I would have never been able to understand her. "Please, Nessie? Please? It's the perfect dress. I absolutely need it. It's essential. It's, just, it feels like it was made for me, you know?"

I smiled, laughing. "Yeah, I do know that feeling." Her lip pushed out into a pout. "Ugh, fine! I'll buy it," I said, acting badly again. Of course I wanted to buy her the dress. But she'll need shoes. That's our next stop.

"No need, Nessie. I have the shoes already," Alice said, walking in and placing a Jimmy Choo shoe box next to me. "Rosalie was going to eat me alive if we didn't go get her shoes and I saw that Claire was getting that dress, I thought getting her some shoes for tonight wouldn't be so awful."

Claire opened the box and gasped as she looked at the shoes. "Oh, Alice, they're adorable! Simply adorable. I love them, thank you!"

Alice smiled and nodded a 'You're welcome,' before getting up and pulling me to another aisle, near more empire waist dresses. "Nessie, guess who I saw walking down the hall with a younger sister?"

I smirked. "Saw is in you actually saw him or you saw him in a vision?" I said smugly, crossing my arms over my chest. Alice glared at me in the most frightening way possible, trying to make up for her insanely short height. After a minute of a full on staring contest, I sighed. "Who did you see Alice?"

She smiled and became joyful again. "I saw Kyle with his little sister." My jaw dropped and Alice pushed it closed with her finger. "Don't look so shocked. He's been asking after you for, like weeks. He's worried about you."

I smiled at his kindness and crossed my arms over my chest. "How did he know I was going to be here today?" I said, looking at her accusingly. She shrugged and I raised one eyebrow. It seemed I was doing that a lot lately. "Alice…"

She sighed. "Fine. I told him we were coming. He wants to see you." She bumped her hip against mine as she walked past. "In fact, I think he likes you." I followed her, knowing she was up to something. "So, we need to find you a dress," she said, walking back toward where Rosalie and Claire were.

I grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "What? What do you mean I'll need a dress? A dress for what?"

She turned around. "I've said too much."

"_Alice,_" I forced out, running around in front of her and stopping her path. "What are you talking about?"

She smiled teasingly. "Are you really that dim?" I nodded. "Oh." Alice looked at the ground, digging the toe of her boot into the ground, making a dent in the wood. "I had a vision of Kyle kinda sorta asking you out on a date." I huffed angrily at her and crossed my arms over my chest. She did the same. "Hey, come on, Ness, he's not that bad. He's really nice _and _he cares about you. Why else would he back constantly asking where you were in school? He says he's so bored in math because you're not there."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right." She spun around and looked at me, smiling. "Wait, has he really?" I said, suddenly getting girly and giggly. Alice nodded, taking my hand and squeezing it. I smiled, biting my lip. Looking up at the ceiling, I thought about this. Deeply. "Okay, Alice. Let's do this thing."  
~*~

Chapter Twenty:

Running into people is fun. Especially if you happen to run into a certain someone…

"No, Nessie, you have to push your shoulders back more," Alice said, reaching up to grab my shoulders and pull them back roughly. "There, see? Now you fill out the dress perfectly."

I looked at her through the mirror with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, I fill out the dress but it looks like I'm trying to poke someone's eye out with my boob." Alice rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Seriously, I think it would be better if we just had Esme tailor it a little bit. She wouldn't mind."

A small sigh came from behind as Alice coming in front of me to stare me down. When I didn't back down, she slumped into the small seat in the changing room. "Alright, fine." I smiled and looked at myself in the mirror. "But you do look pretty," she said sullenly, sad that she lost the fight.

"Alice?" I asked, looking over my shoulder to see how the dressed looked form the back.

"Yes?" she replied back in the same tone—quiet and calm.

I sighed and looked back at her. "Do you think I made the right decision?"

She furrowed her brow at me. "Of course. This dress makes you look like you just stepped out of a fashion advertisement in Cosmo," she said, kicking one leg over the over, crossing her legs at the knees. "I mean, it goes with your skin tone and it accents your curves perfectly, I don't think you could have picked a better dress and-"

"No, Alice," I said quietly, interrupting her. "I mean, do you think I made the right decision with Jacob." Her features fell in sadness and I sat down on the little bench next to her. "Earlier today, Claire was saying that imprints are your soul mates or something and that if Quill ever left her or if she ever left Quil she would be crushed so I'm thinking, did I do the right thing?"

Alice gave me a small smile and put her arm around my shoulder comfortingly. "If being apart from him is what you want, then you did make the right decision," she said, reaching her other arm around me and hugging my shoulders.

I knew she was lying, I just knew it. This whole family had a secret and I could tell. Just then, Rosalie burst through the changing room door, a flushed look on her face, even though it was physically impossible for a vampire to look flushed. Somehow, she managed to. "How does the dress fit?" she spat out, her ponytail flopping over the top of her head. She got one look at me and screamed. "Renesmee! You look fantastically and positively sexy! Buy it! Right now!"

Alice and I exchanged looks of confusion before looking at Rosalie. "Um, what?" I said, confused. "Rose, what's going on?"

She bounced in place quickly, a big smile on her face. "I saw Kyle and some tiny person in the food court."

I groaned. "Oh, God. You know about Kyle too. Jeez, Alice did you tell the whole fam-" I stopped midsentence. "Wait, Rosalie what were you doing in the food court?"

"I was being a good friend and getting Claire some food and I saw him sitting there with a little girl, same color hair and she was wearing the cutest dress a toddler could ever posses and no shoes. Which was weird. But whatever..."

I fought back a smile as I slipped off the straps of the dress and tugged the long sweater I was wearing over my head. After pulling the rest of the dress down and putting on my boots, I hung the dress back up on the hanger. "Okay, so, yes? You're buying the dress?" Alice said, holding her arms out and allowing me to drape the dress across her arms. I nodded, pulling my hair up into a messy bun. "Good. I'll go up and buy it." She flounced out of the changing room with me and Rosalie following behind. "Claire, let's go. We're buying the dresses now." Claire, who was almost ready to shove a fork full of Lo Mein into her mouth, stopped and put the fork into her container, closing it securely before standing up and waddling after Alice.

I sighed but followed them out to the register where the cashier was boxing up Claire's dress as well as mine and another box. When I inquired as to what is was, Alice smiled at me and motioned to the box, asking the woman behind the counter if it was alright for her to untie the ribbon and show me. She nodded happily and Alice tugged at the ribbon and lifted the lid, revealing the most interesting yet beautiful shoes I'd ever seen.

"They're not by Jovani but I asked Heather to wrap them up anyway," Rosalie said, leaning against the counter and smiling at us innocently. "I like walking around with wrapped boxes. It makes me feel-"

"Special," Alice said, the word coming out in a sigh as she began to get lost in a world of shopping. Claire and I gave each other looks that said 'They are the saddest people on the planet' before I just reached into Alice's purse and pulled out her credit card, handing it to Heather. After signing, I grabbed my dress and shoes while Claire took her purchases and we headed out of the store, calling a 'Thanks Heather' over our shoulders while Rosalie and Alice stayed where they were, still in a daze.

"So, where do you want to go now?" I asked Claire, swinging my bags like a true 'shopaholic.'

She thought for a minute, then looked down at her belly. "Where do you want to go, baby?" she said quietly, looking at the bump. "Food court," she said to me, smiling broadly.

I stopped by a McDonalds and bought a thing of fries and a vanilla milkshake. "Claire, you talk to the baby?" I said teasingly, nudging her arm with my elbow. She smiled at me, laughing once. "Yeah, I never understood why mothers did that. You know, talk to their baby?"

Claire sat down at a table close to the McDonalds and opened her container of food again. "Well, they say that babies can hear you."

"Well, yes, I remember when my mother was pregnant with me they would talk to me but I have above-average intelligence. I could hear them and know what they were saying. I'm not sure that baby can."

After swallowing the Lo Mein she was about to eat earlier, Claire took an opportunity to fill me in on motherhood. "Well, this mothering magazine that's written by some really experienced scientist guy who lives for information about unborn babies said that they are calmed by the sound of their mother's voice even if they can't understand what she's saying. They like to be sung to, read to, talked to; apparently it helps their minds develop more quickly and they become smarter." I nodded, slowly chewing on a fry. "So, I talk to him… her… it… as much as I can because, like most mothers, I want to have a smart baby."

I bit my lip and smiled, finished off my fries, throwing the little cardboard thing away before we headed down to the baby store at the other end of the mall, our feet moving slowly as we talked about names they wanted, what she wanted the gender to be and so on and so forth. It was so cool seeing Claire light up when she talked about the baby I didn't even notice the people coming toward us until I bumped into them.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't… see… you…" My words slowed as I saw who it was and I smiled slowly. "Kyle, hi."

"Hi," he said quietly, reaching out and grabbing a small girl's hand as she began to scamper away. "No, Lyla, stay over here. You can't just go wandering off," he whispered to her, holding her hand tightly in his own. I looked at the little girl. She was, in fact, wearing a very cute dress but now she had shoes on, little pink high tops. "So." He cleared this throat. "How are you?"

I smiled, biting my lip slightly. "I'm alright, I guess."

He narrowed his eyes at me jokingly. "Nessie, you've been out of school for about a month and a half. You can't possibly be alright."

I rolled my eyes, looking at me feet. "Well, I guess, I'm a little bit not alright," I said, fumbling for my words.

Kyle smiled and Claire took my hand in hers for a minute before whispering, "I'll see you later," and stepping around Kyle. After she was a few feet behind him, she turned around and fanned her face, mouthing 'So hot!' and I giggled once, biting my lips. When Kyle turned around, she just smiled giddily at him, and waggled her fingers before continuing on to the baby store.

Kyle looked back to me and cocked an eyebrow. "Who was that?"

"Oh, just a friend of mine from back in Forks," I said, running a hand through my hair.

He nodded, gnawing on his bottom lip. Then, all of a sudden, he took off running, dodging all the people around him until he reached the food court. He went over to one of those electronic horses that you need to put a coin in until it slowly starts to move back and forth. One of those idiotic things that little children find amusing. He pried his little sister off the horse and held her tightly while she squirmed, kicking her little legs back and forth. By the time he'd gotten back to where I was, he'd managed to bribe her quiet with an ice cream cone he was going to buy later and when they stopped in front of me, he had her balanced on his hip.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "Lyla thinks it's hilarious to run off every five seconds," he said more loudly, tickling the little girl's stomach. We were all quiet for a minute before he looked at me through his blonde hair. "Anyway, you were a little bit not alright?" He grinned at me, showing his perfect teeth.

I nodded, smiling back at him. "Yeah, I mean, everyone is upset after a break up-"

"But no one stays home from school for a month and a half because of it." His voice was, again, teasing and sarcastic.

"Yeah, I guess I took it a little too dramatically," I said, biting down on my tongue to stop the lump in my throat from rising. He nodded modestly at me, laughing slightly.

Lyla started tugging on Kyle's sleeve stretching the fabric so much the t-shirt sleeve could have reached his elbow. "Kyle!" she said, dragging out his name. "Ice cream. Now!"

"Ugh, Lye, can you just wait one minute?" he said, kissing her forehead before she slumped in his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. After a few seconds, Kyle let out a sigh and mumbled, 'Alright, I'm just gonna go for it.' "Nessie, do you want an ice cream?"

I rocked back and forth on my feet biting on my lip slightly, but then I smiled.  
~*~

Chapter Twenty One:

Confiding and Telling Secrets

"Go on," I said, nudging Kyle's elbow with my own, taking a bite of my ice cream. We were outside Benson's, sitting at the picnic benches with Lyla close by, playing with a few other toddlers. "So, what's your deepest secret?"

He snorted. "Come on, Nessie. Guys don't tell girls their deepest secrets. It's not something we do…"

I smiled. "What if the girl were to give you something if you did?"

"Like what?" he said, waggling his eyebrows. I leaned forward, planting a kiss on his cheek and he smiled. "I think it'll take a little more persuading."

I rolled my eyes at him. "That's all your getting, now spill."

Kyle thought for a moment, his eyes looking to the sky as he pondered. What he was pondering, I didn't know. "Okay," he said suddenly, leaning closer to me, his elbows making the old wooden table creak. "You can't say anything, because it would absolutely crush two very important people if anyone finds out about this."

"Who?"

Kyle pointed to himself, then to Lyla. My mouth fell open slightly and I nodded, letting him continue. "So, my deepest darkest secret is… My parents are gone."

"Are they, like, on a permanent business thing or something?" I said, setting my empty ice cream cup on the table.

Kyle shook his head. "No, um, they… They died." My hand shot up to my mouth, covering a gasp. "When Lyla was three and a half. They were driving to a business conference in D.C. and that was in the winter; D.C.'s hectic and stuff, you know?" he said, looking down at the table sadly.

I placed my hand over his, stroking my thumb across his knuckles. "I'm so sorry. I know what it'd like to lose someone close to you."

"Oh, yeah, Jacob, right?"

I smiled. "No." Kyle's forehead creased in confusion and he gave me a look, telling me to continue. "I once had a pet fish," I said in a solemn voice. "When I came home from school one day, I saw Emmett and Jasper tossing John Bob around in a plastic bag filled with water. They promised they wouldn't break it, but, of course, it smashed against the wall, and John Bob fell to his death. Emmett tried to give him C.P.R., but it was too late."

I looked up at Kyle sadly and his mouth was twitching as he tried not to smile, but he broke out laughing, throwing his head back, his shoulders shaking and his chest heaving up and down. "You're funny, Renesmee," he said quietly when he'd calmed down.

I smiled. "Thank you." There was an uncomfortable silence between us. "So, I don't see how that would crush Lyla, or you for that matter."

He sighed. "She doesn't know they're dead," he said quietly, looking over at his little sister. "She thinks they're visiting her imaginary friend, Gary, who fell down the stairs and hit his head, making him close his eyes forever." My mouth fell open and I stared at Kyle, not believing his little sister thought something up like that. "I know, right? Scary how she thinks up things like this. Anyway, whenever I put her down for her nap or to go to bed at night, she always says, 'Kyle, wake me up if Momma and Daddy come home, please,' before falling asleep instantly." My chin quivered. "So, she would be crushed if she really found out they weren't alive anymore."

"And it would crush you if she was crushed?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah. I mean, when the only person you have left in your family doesn't know that your parents aren't alive and that you've been keeping a secret like that from her for her whole life… I mean…"

"Oh," I said, dragging out the 'O.' "That's horrible, Kyle, I'm so sorry; having to keep that secret to yourself must be really hard for you."

He nodded. "Yeah, it is. I mean, having to keep a job as well as taking care of my sister and myself… Difficult as hell."

"What have, like, social services done about it?"

Kyle sighed. "They help us. I mean, because I'm seventeen, I'm not legally fit to take care of a five year old, but, for some bizarre, reason, they let me keep her and take care of her. I think they saw the way we were all each other had and stuff, so they let me keep her." I was silent. "And they give up money, too. Every month, we get, like, a couple hundred bucks and stuff. Our house doesn't cost that much because it's small. Plus, we rent it, so we get by pretty well. I'm just so glad they've let us stay together and that they're so supportive of us and all…"

I nodded just as Lyla came scurrying over, frowning. "Kyle!" she said, dragging out his name as long as she could. "It's raining!"

Kyle looked up to the sky, squinting as raindrops began to fall onto his face. "You're right, Lye, let's go. Do you have your umbrella?" She flicked her arm up, revealing an opened umbrella decorated to look like a ladybug; there were even eyes popping out of the top. "Alright, awesome." Kyle opened a plain umbrella and held it over us.

"How did you happen to have umbrellas?" I said, impressed.

"The weather forecast said cloudy with showers. When you have a toddler to take care of, you start understanding the necessities." I smiled as we walked over to my car, Lyla climbing into the back while Kyle got in the passenger's seat.

"Okay, so should I take you guys back to the mall?" I said, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"Nope. We took a cab there, since our neighbor borrowed my car for his weekend trip to Cape Cod with his family," he said, shaking his hair free of any water that may have hit his head.

I nodded, turning my GPS on. "Okay, well, put in your address, I can't take directions from a person."

Kyle laughed, punching his address into the GPS. "Kyle!" Lyla said suddenly from the back seat. "Guess! WHAT!"

"What, baby?"

"Mr. Meatloaf von Yum Yums came home!" she squealed, clapping her hands together rapidly.

My forehead creased in confusion. "Who on earth is Mr. Meatloaf von Yum Yums?" I said curiously.

"Our cat," Kyle said in a logical voice as if I was just supposed to know who Mr. Meatloaf von Yum Yums was from kick ass knowledge. "He ran away about a week ago. Lyla's been looking for him everywhere. She even went into the neighbors garden, which she's not allowed to do-" He shot her a look in the rear view mirror "-But anyway… Lye, that's great. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"…Uh, I forgot!"

This girl likes to shout. "Indoor voices, Lyla, please," he said, reaching behind him to take her hand and squeeze it once. Lyla laughed and began to babble on and on about her school play; they were doing a food groups presentation and she was in the dessert scene. She wouldn't tell me what she was and said that if I wanted to find out, I would have to go see it.

I smiled, stopping on the curb by Kyle's house. His place was small, smaller than I expected it to be, especially since he was so… Well kept. It was the size of a cottage you would see in the country; a thatched roof, white stone walls, tiny green lawn, little walkway wrapping around the house so you could walk around in the woods without leaving your backward. I smiled. It was quant in a really cheesy way.

"Your house is adorable," I said, leaning back in my seat with my hands gripping the steering wheel loosely as I stared out my window.

Kyle blushed, unbuckling his seat belt and climbing out of the car, pulling his seat forward to Lyla could climb out. "Thanks, Nessie. I'm sure your house is gigantic," he said sarcastically.

I sighed. "No, Kyle, I didn't mean it in that way."

He smiled. "Don't worry about it, Ness. See you later. Lyla, say good bye," he called out to his little sister. She turned from her spot in front of the wooden door to wave at me. "Bye, Nessie. See you later."

He shut the door and walked up to the front door, shuffling around in his pocket before pulling out a ring of three or four keys. He unlocked the door and allowed Lyla to scamper in before turning to me and waving, stepping into his house and disappearing.

As soon as the door was closed, I let my head fall to the top the wheel. "Way to go, Nessie. Great way to say good bye," I said to myself, muttering cuss words and profane things as I pulled away, heading home. It wasn't until I pulled into my spot in the garage that I noticed Lyla's ladybug umbrella lying in the backseat of my car. I reached back and grabbed it before lightly running into the house.

"And where have you been?" Dad said as soon as I stepped into the living room.

"Back off and let me breathe a little, Dad, would ya?"

His eyes widened but I ignored it as Emmett walked it. "Nice umbrella, Nessie," he said, flicking it with his foot as he sat down. "Pretty damn sexy."

"Go die in a hole," I said, punching his arm. "It's Lyla's. Kyle's little sister."

"I am loving that girl more and more," Rosalie said, smiling at the umbrella. "First the dress, now this. She's remarkable."

I laughed. "Relax, Rosalie," I said, opening it and holding it over my head.

She gasped. "Oh, my God, it's adorable!" I smiled, spinning it around like a lace parasol. Her face suddenly fell. "You're going to have to take it back to her tomorrow, aren't you?" she said in a disappointed voice.

"Yeah, I guess I am." A wide smile spread across my face. "I guess I am."


	11. Chapter 22&23&24

**Haha, getting there, ish. **

Chapter Twenty Two:

Visiting People Can Be… Interesting…

When I woke up the next morning, I stretched my arms and smiled at myself in the mirror. I loved November break; having a week off before we go back to school in the winter was nice, especially since we get off for a month two weeks after November break.

The sun wasn't out yet and it was still only as if it were midnight, but when I looked at my cell phone for the time, it was almost four. I slipped out of bed, stretching again, before I wandered out of my room in my sweatpants and t-shirt. And this one _wasn't _Jacob's.

Making my way down to the living room, I saw Emmett settled on the couch with Rosalie's legs kicked over his lap and Seth sitting in the corner. I was surprised to see Annie sitting on his lap, her head tilted back on his shoulder while she dozed peacefully.

"Morning, Nessie," Emmett said without looking away from the TV screen. I saw the football game reflecting in Seth's glasses and I smiled.

Rosalie looked up at me. "So, are you going over to Kyle's to return Lyla's umbrella?" she said, smiling mischievously. I nodded. "Okay, text me or something and tell me what she's wearing."

I rolled my eyes. "You're so weird, Rosalie."

She smiled at me, flashing her perfect, white teeth. "You know it."

"Renesmee!" Esme called to me from the kitchen. "Will you come here, dear?" I walked into the kitchen and stopped short, seeing Jacob sitting at the table chewing a piece of bacon.

"Hi, Nessie," he said quietly, looking down at his plate for a moment before looking back to me.

I waggled my fingers at him shyly. "Hi, Jacob."

Esme, sensing the tension, cleared her throat. "Will you bring this out to Seth and Annie, please?" she asked, handing me a tray that held two plates piled high with food. I gratefully snatched the tray from her and smiled. "Thank you, sweetie."

I quickly scurried out of the kitchen, choking back tears as I brought Seth the tray. "Here, that other plate is for Annie when she wakes up, so don't eat it, okay?" I said quietly, looking at the floor sadly.

As I walked passed Emmett and Rosalie, he grabbed my hand. "Hey, I feel like I haven't seen you for a long time," he said with a smile on his face, even though his voice was sincere. "Give me a hug."

I sniffled, leaning down to wrap my arms around his neck. Rosalie moved her legs off his lap and allowed me to sit down. Emmett wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me tightly. Rosalie rested her head on my shoulder, rubbing my arm comfortingly.

"It's okay, Nessie," Emmett whispered, kissing my temple and playing with my fingers.

"Mm," Rosalie said, smiling. "You're a big girl."

I sniffed again, snuggling into Emmett's chest. We all sat there for a few moments before I suddenly sat up. "I have to call Kyle," I whispered, rubbing my eyes.

"You have all day for that."

I looked at Emmett. "Yeah, but I don't know what he's doing today, so I need to call early so I can know, you know?" He nodded. "Thank you, guys," I said, hugging Rosalie one last time and kissing Emmett's cheek before flouncing up the stairs and to my room.

I grabbed my cell phone, dialing Kyle's home number, which I'd gotten from Annie, and waited for it to ring. "Hello?" Kyle answered, his voice groggy and hoarse.

"Oh, crap." I heard him laughed once. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Nah. I needed to wake up anyway, so thank you, Renesmee."

My brow furrowed in confusion. "How did you know it was me?"

He laughed again and it sounded like he was stretching. "It sounded like you," he said simply and there was some rustling from the other side. "Plus I was hoping you would call today." I smiled, biting my lip. "Hold on a sec." I could hear him opening a door and there was wood creaking. "Lye, sweetie, you have to wake up."

"_No!_" someone shrieked before they started crying. "I. Don't. Want. To. Get. Up!" she screamed.

Kyle sighed. "Nessie, can you hold on for one more second?" he said, annoyed.

I smiled again. "Sure."

Kyle put the phone down on a hard surface and there was the sound of someone flopping around on a bed. "Lyla, baby girl, you need to wake up. We need to get ready to start the day," he said quietly and sweetly.

"No, I don't wanna," Lyla whined, the sound of her feet kicking the mattress. "I wanna sleep, Kyle!"

He snorted. "If you don't wake up, you can't have pancakes for breakfast." She cried even louder. "I have Nessie on the phone. Would you like to talk to her?" The phone was picked up. "Renesmee, do you think you could bribe my sister out of bed?"

I laughed, tilting my head back. "Sure," I said, shaking my head.

"Hello?" Lyla said in a dreary voice, sniffing into the phone.

I smiled. "Good morning, honey," I said brightly, running a hand through my hair. "Why don't you want to get up this morning?" I felt like a mother talking to her daughter when she's on a long distance trip.

She made a 'humph' noise. "Because! It's warm under my covers and it's cold outside! Plus… I was having a good dream."

"Oh, about what?" My voice was curious and high pitched, the typical voice most people take on when talking to toddlers.

"My mommy and daddy." I mouth fell open slightly. "Would you like to know what it was?"

"Uh, how about you tell me when I come over this morning?"

There was silence from the other line before I heard someone say, "Kyle, can Nessie come over for breakfast!" in an extremely excited voice.

"I don't know, how does Nessie feel about that?" I heard Lyla say 'I dunno.' Kyle laughed. "Well, why don't you ask her?"

"Renesmee, would you like to come over for breakfast?"

I smiled. "What time?"

"Five," she said without even asking her brother.

I sat in my room for a moment, my mind flashing. I thought of Jacob, sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast and I knew I didn't want to eat with him. Of course, I could always eat later, but I would still have to deal with him. I switched the phone to my other ear.

"Sure, Lye, I'll see you soon."  
~*~

After I'd taken the fastest shower possible and blow dried my hair, I skipped into my closet, grabbing some personals before slipping on a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. I took my last pair of clean socks from their bin and shoved them on my feet, grabbing my sand colored Uggs before skipping lightly down the stairs. It was almost four-thirty and even though I was early, I wanted to get there as soon as possible so I tucked my jeans into my boots, unhooking my jacket from the rack on the wall.

"Where are you going, Renesmee?"

I skidded short, rolling my eyes before turning to face my dad. "To Kyle Jones' house for breakfast with his little sister." Dad raised an eyebrow at me. I stomped my foot. "God, let it up, Daddy. I'm thirteen years old, I should be able to make my own choices."

"Excuse me?"

I glared at him, crossing my arms over my chest. "Take a few steps back and walk out of my life," I said slyly, running my tongue over the front of my teeth. "You're taking over my world. I need to breathe."

I grabbed my keys and Lyla's umbrella before dashing out of the house and into my car. "Renesmee Carlie Cullen, get your ass back here!" he shouted after me.

I stuck my head out the window. "I can't, Dad. I have to go enjoy a life without you sticking your nose into it."

His jaw dropped and I laughed as I pulled out of the driveway. My GPS flashed on in the darkness of the car and the midnight sky outside. I sighed, leaning back in my chair until my arms were straight and I followed the route on my screen, driving through twisted roads until I pulled up in front of Kyle's house.

There were only a few lights on in his house, and they weren't giving off much light. It looked like it would be cozy inside so I flung off my seatbelt and grabbed Lyla's umbrella, slowly walking up their small walk way. I knocked on the door a few times, holding my hands behind my back loosely.

"I'll get it!" I heard Lyla shout and there was some pattering.

"Oh, no, I don't think so," Kyle said back in a scolding voice. "You get over here."

There was some grunting and some retraining squeals before Kyle flung the door open. He was holding Lyla upside down around the waist, her dress falling in front of her face while he struggled to yank her tights all the way on.

"Hi, Renesmee," he said, his voice strained again as she kicked her legs wildly. "Come on in."

Kyle backed away and allowed me to enter the house, grabbing Lyla's legs so she would calm down. He leaned forward, placing a small kiss lightly on my cheek. My cheeks must have turned a brilliant shade of red.

"Ah-h-h-h-h!" Lyla wailed, her legs flailing again. "Lemme go!"

I squatted down, lifting her dress away from her face. She had pink cheeks from her struggling and her hair was frazzled. "Hi Nessie!" she yelled at me, waving her arms wildly. The pacifier she had in her mouth fell onto the floor as she spoke and she pouted. "I… Can you get that for me?"

I smiled, picking it up and placing it in her out stretched hand. "Hello to you too, Lyla," I said, ruffling her hair before standing up again. "And, hi, Kyle." I smiled sweetly and laughed as he tugged on the hem of Lyla's tights, shaking her all the way into the legs like a pillow into a pillow case.

He put her down and she latched herself onto my legs, squealing happily. "I'm happy you're here!" she said, jumping up and down.

I smiled, looking at Kyle. "So am I."  
~*~

Chapter Twenty Three:

A Morning of Pancakes, Broken Plates and Confessions

We were all in the kitchen, me and Lyla drawing in a coloring book while Kyle friend breakfast on the stove; eggs, bacon and pancakes.

"Nessie, did you know that today is Confucius's birthday?"

I looked up from the printed picture of Sleeping Beauty to stare at Lyla. "And who would Confucius be?"

"Our doggy." I nodded and she smiled. "We have lots of pets!"

A smile spread across my face. "Oh, yeah? Like what?"

She thought for a moment, her pointer finger tapping her lips lightly. "Well, we have two cats, a dog, three hermit crabs, thirteen fish, an iguana and four hamsters."

"Tell her their names," Kyle called from the stove, smiling over his shoulder.

She nodded, accepting the challenge. "Okay… Cats; Mr. Meatloaf von Yum Yums and Javier. Dog; Confucius. Hermit crabs; Quasimodo, Xavier, and Alexia. Fish; Nemo, Augustus, Ella Moe, Emmalina, Alejandro, Enrique, Prince Charles, Maximus, Octavius, Etienne, Uncle Kracker and Edna Bean. Iguana; Ellie Mae. Hamsters; Bob, Mike, Frank and Vanilla Caramel."

"And she wants two turtles so she can name them Tortuga, which is turtle in Spanish, and Tortellini, which I believe is a pasta." Lyla nodded to me proudly. "We like animals," Kyle said, placing a plate of eggs on the table. "She's ridiculous, though. She wants everything. If dinosaurs were alive, I'm sure she'd want one…"

I laughed, looking out the window. It was almost five thirty and the sun _still _wasn't out. I liked it that way. "Well, Kyle and Lyla, that is _a lot _of pets." I leaned toward Lyla. "And if I were you, I would push Kyle for those turtles."

"Hey, I heard that," he said, pointing his spatula at us with a smirk on his face.

Lyla and I hid behind her coloring book, giggling. She gave me a silly look and smiled. "Kyle, can we get two turtles?" she whined, peering out from behind the book. "Ple-e-e-e-e-e-ease?"

I looked out as well and saw him roll his eyes. "Lyla Angeline Jones, we already have twenty four pets; we're not getting two more." Her lip wobbled and her eyes widened. He caved. "Maybe for Christmas…." She started clapping her hands quickly, squealing. "I said maybe, Lyla."

"But that usually means yes," she said back.

Kyle's face went into one of those looks that most parents get; a cross between a look of boredom, a smile and defeat. "We'll see, Lyla, we'll see."

"Kyle, are you going to finish cooking anytime soon? I'm starving," I said, looking at him with angelic eyes.

He sighed. "Lyla, distract her. Tell her about your dream… Tell both of us."

She looked at me. "Do you want to hear my dream?" I nodded, filling in the hair to Princess Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I started coloring Flounder's tail. "Well, Mommy and Daddy were coming home from their business trip and when they got here, we had lots of presents, like Christmas! And we ate a yummy dinner with mashed potatoes and cotton candy." I smiled, trading crayons with her. "But that will never happen…" she whispered, trailing off.

My forehead creased. "Why not, Lye?"

She looked at me with the biggest eyes I've ever seen. "Because Mommy and Daddy are with Gary." I started wracking my brain for what Kyle had said about Gary and their parents. She said it just as I thought it. "In heaven."

The plate Kyle had been carrying to the table crashed to the floor, the plate cracking into twenty pieces of ceramic mixed with bacon strips. His hands clenched the edge of the stove, dangerously close to the burner. His shoulders were hunched over; head hanging low. "How long have you known?" he whispered, looking at her over his shoulder.

"When school started. I saw what you wrote on the paper…"

Kyle turned toward his sister, tears brimming his eyes. "Lyla… I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have lied to you." She held her arms out for a hug. "I'm sorry."

Lyla pouted her lip, looking at her brother. "Poor Kyle. He's sad!" she said with a baby voice, kissing the top of his hair. She reached out the arm closest to me and pulled me into the hug. Kyle slipped his arm around my waist, resting his head on my shoulder.

I turned my head and kissed his temple, smiling at the same time he did.  
~*~

Kyle and I stood outside his house, the sun just barely peeking through the trees. Lyla was busy watching Sponge Bob so Kyle took the opportunity to say good-bye.

"I- I should probably go. My dad's probably pissed right now…"

He smiled. "You didn't tell him you were coming here?" he said with a devious tone.

"No," I said, half laughing. "I just sort of… left."

Kyle nodded, gathering his hands behind his back as he rocked back and forth on his feet. "Alright, well, I'll see you at school?"

I shrugged. "Maybe we can get together before then…?" He nodded again. "Good." There was silence between us, then the I put my hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You know, I'm sorry about what happened with Lyla. I- She certainly took the news very well."

He looked at his feet. "I think she knew before the time she said she did…" I gave him a small smile. "Lyla's a smart girl; she's got more intelligence then any of the five year olds her pediatrician has seen. At least, that's what Dr. Hendricks said…"

"I'm just wondering… You guys are going to be okay, right? I mean, she's not going to be mad that you've lied to her for her whole life?"

Kyle shook his head. "Naw. She reacted worse when she found out the tooth fairy didn't exsist, so I think we'll be okay."

"Mm…" I pushed my hair out of my face. "Okay, well, if you need anything, tell me, okay?"

I started to walk away but he grabbed my elbow and spun me around. "There is one thing…"

I nodded. "Yeah, anything. What is-"

Before I could finish my sentence, Kyle ducked his head down, softly pressing his lips against mine. I froze for a moment, but then relaxed, letting him wrap his arms around my waist. I reached up and cupped his face in my hands, smiling against his lips. After a minute, he pulled away. "That's what you could do for me."

I nodded slightly. "Oh, okay."

He kissed me again.  
~*~

Chapter Twenty Four:

Purity Rings Are Dreams Come True For Parents… Congrats Mom and Dad…

When I got back home, I couldn't stop smiling. It was like everything was alright again, like everything that happened between me and Jake never happened; everything was fantastic. I parked in the garage, flouncing into the house where Dad was waiting, tapping a foot on the floor with his arms crossed over his chest. "Renesmee, we have to talk."

I sighed happily. "I'm sorry, Daddy, about what I said before. I was just in a hurry…" I kissed his cheek before skipping up the stairs.

"No, Renesmee, that's not what I wanted to talk about; I-"

I shut the door and flopped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. I reached over to my night stand and pressed play on my iHome, the song _My Wish _By Rascal Flatts flooded my ears. I closed my eyes, blocking out everything except the song, letting out a slow breath. Suddenly, the music stopped. My eyes flew open and I saw Rosalie and Alice looming over me.

"Um, hi?" I sat up, pushing my hair over my shoulders. "What are you doing here?" I asked, crossing my legs like a first grader.

Rosalie sat down next to me and Alice did the same. "Okay, Nessie. We just to tell you something. And give you something as well." I looked at Rosalie curiously. "So… Now that you're not with Jacob anymore, we know that not all family rules will be obeyed or respected or whatever." I tilted my head to the side slowly. "And by family rules, we mean, like, what the boundaries are when it comes to guys…" Alice smacked her hand to her face. "Anyway, we just wanted to give you these."

She handed me three rings, each with a word engraved on them a few times. I looked at each one. TRUE LOVE WAITS. My eyebrows shot up. "Do you guys seriously think that about me?" I said, putting the rings in the proper order. "Like, you honestly think that just because I broke up with the one person who would respect my parents the most, now I need a set of purity rings?"

"Edward told us to find and give you one."

I scoffed. "Why does that not surprise me?" I slipped the three rings on my left ring finger. "And instead of just one, you got me three! Fantastic."

Alice turned to me fully. "Hey, come on, Nessie. Don't give use that… It's not fair. This wasn't our choice; it was your father's." I rolled my eyes. "Well, anyway, don't think that we think this… Edward does."

They stood up and walked out of my room, shutting the door behind them. Even when it was shut, I could hear Dad talking to them. "That was great guys. While you were at it, maybe you could have mentioned how I think my daughter's going to turn into a slut. Oh, wait, you did!"

"What did you expect us to do, Edward? Let her think that we thought she was going to do that? Please! We're not the ones she lashes out at on a daily basis," Rosalie said and I heard her slap him on the back of the head.

Dad sputtered for a minute. "Well, you both made this situation a whole lot worse, so thank you for that."

Alice scoffed. "If you don't think we did it right, why don't you go in there and straighten everything out?"

That silenced Dad. "Yeah, that's what I thought." I burst out laughing and from inside my room, I could hear Rosalie and Alice laughing at me laughing at Dad. They started chattering, their voices getting quieter as they walked downstairs.

I sighed, holding my sides. My phone suddenly buzzed. I reached into my pocket, flipping it up so the keyboard was usable. The text was from Kyle.

_Phantom of the Opera tickets, Saturday night, Chicago Opera House, What do you think? *Kyle Jones* _

I looked at the text message for a second before pressing reply.

_I think I have the perfect dress. I'd love to. _

_~Renesmee _


	12. Chapter 25&26

Chapter Twenty Five:

People Always Love a Little Action. As Long As It Doesn't Involve Them

The next afternoon, I skipped down the stairs, my cell phone clutched in my hand. I was prepared for a fight—Epic as it was—and I knew that Dad wouldn't want to say yes to what I was about to ask him. I was ready to bring him down in the biggest fight we might have. I could see my mother and father sitting on the couch, watching a documentary on hypotheses about how mythical creatures, like vampires, werewolves, warlocks, ect., were real and that they lived in our every day world, and I shook my head. _People these days, _I thought to myself jokingly. _They'll believe anything. I hope this guy has evidence. _

Dad laughed, looking at me with a smile spread across his face. "He's doing surprisingly well with his reasoning, Renesmee, sweetheart." I smiled. "Is there something you wanted?"

I nodded my head. "Yes, I was wond-" I stopped when I saw someone else poke out from next to Mom, his hair falling over his eyes. "Oh. Hello, Jacob," I said quietly, raising my eyebrows slightly.

He nodded his head once. "Renesmee."

"Nessie," I snapped out quickly, correcting him. "Only my parents can call me Renesmee."

_I nodded. "Every calls me Nessie though," I snapped, not at all in the mood to be flirting with this jackass. _

_He smiled even bigger at me. "Then I'll call you Renesmee," he said smugly. _

_I glared at him. "Not if you want to live you won't. The only people I allow to call me Renesmee are my parents and my boyfriend, Jacob, both of which you are neither so don't call me that unless by some miracle you become either my father or mother." _

_He looked at his feet then back up at me. "What if by some miracle I become your boyfriend?" _

_I picked up my pencil and started doing a rough draft of my essay. "That'll never happen," I said coolly. I felt him staring at me. I whipped my head to look at him. "What, you think you could be my boyfriend?" _

_He raised his eyebrows up and down. "It could happen." _

I grinned at the memory, looking back to Jake. "How are you?"

"I"m doing well; how are you?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

Mom and Dad were looking back and forth between Jacob and I, their stare changing every time one of us spoke. "Is there something you wanted, Renesmee?" Mom said in a slightly confused voice.

I nodded again. "Kyle Jones... He invited me to go see Phantom of the Opera with him on Saturday? I was wondering if I could go."

Jacob got a look of terror on his face. "I don't know, Ness." He sat back, triumphant.

"Sure, Nessie. You can go, as long as you're careful and make sure you're home on time."

"What?" the three of us said together, looking at Dad. Jacob's face was bewildered, Mom's was shocked, and mine as smirking. "You can go, just get home on time and don't get into any trouble."

A small smile spread on my face. "Really?" My words were excited and eager. Dad nodded and a squeal filled the room. "Thank you, Daddy!" I said, scampering over to him and throwing my arms around his neck in a tight hug.

He embraced me for a moment. "You're welcome, love," he said in a quiet voice, kissing my cheek as I pulled away. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Jacob sitting there, his hands shaking like crazy. "But remember that it's Claire's ultrasound on Sunday morning and you promised her you'd go."

"How did you know that?" I said, cocking an eyebrow at him. He made a face at me, taping his temple with his pointer and middle finger, a crocked smile on his face. "Right. I knew that... Okay, thank you!"

I then retreated to my room, about to text Annie when I could hear Jacob and Dad talking. "Edward, have you gone completely insane," he said in his calmest voice, trying to prevent himself from shouting. My eyebrows shot up. "You're honestly going to let her go out with this guy?"

Slowly, I put my cell phone down on my vanity table, sneaking out of my room and down to the staircase. Pressing my body against the wall, I strained my ears to listen.

"I don't see the issue, Jacob," he said in a logical voice. "So, tell me, what is the problem, Jacob? What is it?"

Jake sputtered. "He's a dickhead, that's what!" I suppressed a laugh. "I mean, seriously."

Dad let out a sigh. "She's old enough to make her own decisions herself, Jacob. I can't put thoughts into her head."

I heard a scoff. "I need to talk to this girl." My body froze, suddenly becoming rigid. Before I even knew what was going on, I heard Jacob marching up the stairs. I flew to my room, shutting the door as quietly as I could. After settling down on my bed, I played the movie I had been watching earlier, my body angled to the small TV on a side table. Ten seconds later, Jacob stormed into my room.

"Jake, what is your problem!" I said in fake surprise. "Why are you in here?"

He started pacing around the room, shaking his head in disappointment. "I don't understand how you could be doing this and not think something was wrong," he mumbled, his fingers pressed to his lips.

My forehead creased together. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you understand what being an imprint means? Because I seriously think you don't."

I glared at him. "Of course I know what it means!" My words were harsh, short and clipped. "If I didn't, I would still be with you."

He let out a flustered laugh. "No, if you_ did _understand, you'd still be with me. Trust me on this one."

For a moment, I didn't respond. "I wouldn't," I said calmly, quietly. "Being an imprint means-"

"Means you're with that person!" he screamed. "All the time. Forever."

"No! It's not!" I screamed back, jumping from my bed and staring him in the face. "Being an imprint means you should love that person forever, no matter what they do. You treat them like they're your world, and you don't break their heart." I paused, my voice becoming softer. "You didn't treat me like your world. I was willing to give you everything—I very nearly did." My voice choked and my eyes blurred. "You broke my heart."

Jacob wiped away my tears that were trailing down my cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Renesmee," he whispered, pulling me close and resting his forehead against mine.

"Nessie," I whispered, softly pushing him away. "My name is Nessie." He stood in his spot, frozen. "Can you go now?"

Jacob made a small whining noise, his fingers stroking across my cheek, softer than any touch I'd ever felt. "I, Nessie, I love you."

"I know. But I gave you my heart. And you shattered it." I went over to the door, putting my hand on the knob. "I loved you Jacob. I did. But, I think it's time we both moved on."

I opened the door and when I did, Emmett, Seth, Rosalie, Alice and Quil came tumbling into the room. Claire was the only one standing, her arms crossed over her baby bump."Way to go, guys," she said, her voice sarcastic. "Way to go."  
~*~

"Goldfish." Annie picked up a card, sighing. "You are so bad at these games, Annie," I said, putting down a set of threes, finishing my hand. "I won."

She threw down the card, a flustered look on her face. "That's the ninth game I've lost," she complained, make a face.

I laughed. "Boo-Hoo." She stuck out her tongue. "You're mature," I said, smirking. She rolled her eyes.

As I pulled the cards toward me, shuffling them a few times, I stared at Annie in wonder. "Annie, can I ask you something?" She nodded, blowing on her mug of hot chocolate. "How did you accept this so quickly?"

"Accept what?"

For a moment, I didn't answer. "Accept that we're not... Human... And that you were born to be Seth's soul mate?"

A small smile grew on her face. "It was a little difficult in the beginning, especially at lunch when you were all telling me what you could do, but as soon as I began talking with Seth, everything in my mind, all the times I've hung out with you and your family and how all of you act so normal as if you're not letting this get in your way of having a good time, it reminded me of how easy it is to be around you. People always think of vampires as people who sleep in coffins and dress in black clothes with capes. That's completely false. You're room is exactly like mine and Alice has a freaking mall in her closet." I nodded slowly. "And besides, Seth means the world to me. If I didn't adapt quickly to my new life style, I wouldn't have Seth. I'd be crushed from the inside out."

As Annie was saying this, Seth walked by, bending down to kiss her cheek. "You'll always have me," he whispered in her ear, kissing her again before wandering to the library, a book tucked under his arm and a cup of tea in his hand. I looked back to Annie and her cheeks were flushed a faint pink, but a feeling in the pit of my stomach knew it wasn't from embarrassment; it was from love, warmth, comfort. And for that, I envied her.  
~*~

Chapter Twenty Six:

In My Mind, I Know Something's Wrong…

"So, he's taking you to see _Phantom of the Opera…_" Claire said, twisting my hair up into a French bun. "Isn't that, like, your favorite musical-opera thing of all time?"

I nodded. "Yeah… I don't know how he knew, but he just… Did." I fiddled with my lip gloss. Annie came marching into my bathroom, carrying a makeup bag in her hands. "Guys, I can get ready myself, you know…" I said, looking at the two of them in the mirror. They scoffed, looking at each other and laughing. "I can!"

"Ness, you couldn't get yourself ready for your date with _Jacob,_" Annie said, taking a foundation pallet out of the makeup bag.

"How did you know about that?" I said, dropping the lip gloss.

Annie smiled triumphantly, putting the lightest shade of foundation on a brush. "Rosalie told me." I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "But… I think, for this dress, we need some purple eye shadow. I like this." Annie showed me a purple eye shadow pallet, pointing to the middle color. When she got no response from me, Annie picked up one of my eye shadow brushes, dusting the purple powder along my lids. "You're going to look… Amazing… Not that you ever don't, but I'm just saying, I always look better than you, so helping you get ready is definitely going to be a step up."

I smiled at Annie's words. "Thanks so much, Annie. I love you too."

"You know it," she said with a sly smile, snapping the pallet shut.

I looked at myself in the mirror, examining every inch of my face. It looked like I was sparkling as the light reflected off the shimmery purple eye shadow and now glossy lips. I could see the curls in the back of my head from the French twist my hair had been pulled, yanked then pinned into. My lashed felt heavy from how much mascara was on them, but I looked past that and to Clair and Annie.

"Well, guys, I have to say, I like this new style." They grinned proudly, bumping their hips together.

Claire clapped her hands together once. "Okay; outfit. Alice said-"

"I can dress myself, guys, thank you very much."

They both frowned but nodded as I headed back through my bathroom and to my closet. "We'll be in Claire's room!" Annie called to me as I disappeared behind a rack of sundresses hanging in rainbow color order.

Carefully, so as not to mess up my hair, I slipped off my t-shirt and bra, my jeans and socks following close after. The dress Alice had bought was hanging on it's own rack and I rolled my eyes, but stepped through it, smiling when I saw that Esme had tailors it to fit my bust. I pulled the zipper up my back as best I could, then called Rosalie into finish it.

"You look really pretty, Nessie," she said, getting the shoes from the corner where my shoes were and setting them on the floor in front of where I was sitting. "There's actually, um, something Emmett and I want to give you…"

As I finished doing up the straps, I saw Emmett coming around from my room to stand next to Rosalie. "So… We know that this is usually something a parent does, but when your mom and dad made us your god-parents, we definitely felt like you were the closest person to the two of us… And therefore, we wanted to give you something that belonged to both of us…"

"We love you," Emmett said, handing me a white box with a light pink ribbon tied around it.

I bit the inside of my lip and pulled at the ribbon and lifted the lid of the box. Resting on tissue paper the same color as the ribbon was a hair comb. The top had a design made out of stones and pearls twisted around them. "This is pretty," I said quietly, running my fingers along the top.

They nodded, smiling. "It was my mom's," Emmett said, wrapping his arms around Rosalie from behind. "Then, I gave it to Rose on your first wedding… We wanted to give it to you."

"I… If this is your mom's, then… That means… They didn't have fake diamonds back then, Emmett…" He shook his head. "Are you guys sure? I mean, Rosalie, this is yours. You really want to give it to me?" They nodded again. "Well, in that case, thank you both." I stood up, stepping toward them and hugging both at the same time. "This is really pretty and it means a lot that you trust me enough to give it to me."

Emmett took it out of the box. "Turn around…" I did so, feeling Emmett stick the comb into the side of my hair twist where the hair curled around. "Beautiful." I faced them again, smiling softly.

"Thank you, again. I love it."

Rosalie gave me another hug. "You're welcome, babe," she whispered before taking Emmett's hand and leading him out of my bedroom.

I sighed, walking to the door that leads to my bathroom and looked in the mirror. When I got the full view, I didn't see me. I saw someone different. A girl who looked like a princess ready for a party with her diamond and pearl hair accessory, her Jovani dress and Stardust makeup. The silver high heels that were like Cinderella's glass slippers. The girl in the mirror was like someone I'd never seen. She was happy, and not because she was pretty, but because the place she was at right now, the point in her life she was at, was exactly where she wanted to be, and after a moment, a smile spread across her face, a smile spread across _my _face.

With a nod, I strutted out of my room and down the hall to Claire's room. "I just don't think she _really _understands," I heard Claire say as I got closer to her door.

It was open only slightly, giving me enough of a slit to look through. I saw Claire and Annie sitting on her bed, their legs crossed like first graders. Annie was clutching a pillow to her chest, her chin resting on the top. Claire had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her hands were placed on her now four month pregnant bump. "Well, what is the actual definition?"

"Nessie was partially right; they're not supposed to break your heart, but what Jacob had correct was that you do actually stay with them forever. They're both right, but they just don't see it." Annie nodded, biting her lip. "I've been an imprint since I was born, like Nessie, but I've been one for longer. She's thirteen, I'm sixteen. I know more then she does, despite the fact that she's, like, brilliant. She doesn't get that even though Jacob did break her heart, the two of them are supposed to be together." There was silence between the two and even though they were me two best friends, I felt a fire flaring up behind my eyes and on my cheeks. "I mean, whenever I'm around Quil, I get this sensation in my stomach and my heart starts beating like I'm nervous, even though I know it's just him and that even though he's going to love me forever, I feel like I have to impress him, you know?"

Annie smiled. "I actually do know. I get the same feeling with Seth. It's like everything in the world is perfect—_he's _perfect—but I feel like I'll never be perfect even though he thinks I am."

"Exactly. What I don't understand is how Nessie isn't feeling those sensations."

"I… It's not possible for an imprinting thing to, like, break, is it? Like, if the imprint and the imprintee split up, it, like, go away? That doesn't happen?"

Claire was quiet as she thought. "I don't think so. Out of all the imprints in the pack now and the imprints in former times, there hasn't been one case of a breakage between imprints that I know of. It, just, doesn't happen. They're soul mates, your loved one forever. As much as I love her, I think Nessie's being a little selfish."

"What do you mean?"

"She's not even considering Jacob's feelings… She hasn't even had a real conversation with him since they broke up. It's all been about how he loves her and wants to be with her. She's hearing all this, but she's not taking it into consideration. She's only thinking about herself. I just don't understand how she doesn't want to be with him and how she wants to be with… With… Kyle What's-His-Name."

"Jones," Annie filled in for her, running a hand through her long silvery hair. "I get what you mean though. But… Maybe she's doing what she thinks is best. Even though Jacob was meant to be her soul mate, maybe being with someone else is what's better. Sometimes, when you're with someone else, it makes you realize how much you love the person you're supposed to be with."

I was grateful to Annie for sticking up for me, but I was furious at them to hear that they were talking about me, about how they were saying I was being selfish. I could tell Claire was about to respond, but I couldn't stand anymore of it so I burst through the door. "What do you think?" I asked, pushing what I'd heard out of my mind and spinning for them, giving a full view of my outfit.

Claire smiled and Annie gasped. "You look like a movie star!" she said happily, tossing the pillow off her lap and scrambling next to me, pretending to hold a mike up to her face. "And here we have Renesmee Cullen, sporting a patterned Jovani dress, silver Jimmy Choo high heels and Stardust makeup." She switched the 'microphone' to me. "Tell me, Miss Cullen, how have you managed to stun the red carpet once again, outshining absolutely everyone here?"

"Well, let me just say, Athena, that it was the hard and careful work of a bunch of girls that are so close to me, they could be my sisters," I said, playing along with her game.

Annie turned and faced Claire who was now being the 'cameraman.' "Well, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Renesmee Cullen, lighting up everyone's eyes with her elegant ways. Please, visit out website to get links to where our shining star got her outfit for this evening. This is Athena Fitzgerald, signing out."

I laughed, giving her a sideways hug and smiling at Claire. What _I _didn't understand was how they could go from practically gossiping about me to acting as if they'd been talking about the latest movie with Taylor Lautner. It took all my strength to not address the subject. "Well, thank you guys. It was nice of you to help me get ready and everything," I said quietly, biting the inside of my lip for the hundredth time today.

The two of them smiled and there was a knock on the door. "Nessie?" We all turned to see Jasper standing in the frame. "Kyle Jones is here."

I held back an excited smile. "Okay, thanks, Jazz. Tell him I'll be right down." He nodded and closed the door and I heard him walking down the stairs. I looked back to Claire and Annie and they gave me weak smiles, and I knew exactly what for. "Well, here goes nothing." I headed to the door and placed my hand on the knob.

"Yeah, _nothing,_" they said under their breath and I turned, giving them a sly smile to show I'd heard. Their cheeks flushed and I began walking down the stairs. "Wait, Nessie!" Claire called, walking down the hall as fast as she could. "Here, you should bring these," she said, handing me a lace shawl and a light blue clutch. "Never go on a date without a purse. You always need to have one, no matter what."

I took them from her, wrapping the shawl around my arms, letting it rest loosely on my forearms. I held the clutch in my hand, feeling that there were things in it. I opened the clasp and peered inside, seeing my cell phone and a couple bills. "Well, aren't you prepared."

She shrugged. "I knew you'd forget." I did a small laugh then hugged her. "Thank you, Claire. You're my best friend, I'm glad you're so supportive of my decision." I felt her freeze and I instantly regretted saying those words. "I… Mean…"

"Don't worry about it," she said, giving me a smile, scurrying back to her room.

A sigh escaped my lips but I turned on my heels, waltzing toward the stairs, walking down them with the hand holding the clutch swinging lightly. It felt like it was in slow motion, my dress flowing softly, eyes searching the room slowly until they landed on Kyle. He was wearing an all black suit except for a pure white tie and as I reached the bottom of the stairs, I heard him whisper, "Wow…" The whole family, who was in the room for some reason, smiled. "You look beautiful," he said when I reached his side. "Like, you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen."

My cheeks felt hot and I smiled. "Thank you, Kyle. You look really good."

He held up his hands as if surrendering. "Alas, I can't take all the credit. Lyla picked out the suit." I giggled and he placed his hand on the small of my back. "Well, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen," he said to Carlisle and Esme, "I'll have her back right after the show."

Carlisle nodded once. "Thank you, Kyle, that's very gracious of you." Acting as my father, Carlisle stepped forward, placing his hands on my shoulders and kissing my forehead. "Have a good time, Renesmee."

I hid a smirk. "Thank you, Ca- Daddy." To the others, I nodded. "See you all later."

I received a chorus of 'Bye's as we went out the front door. "Don't get into trouble!" Carlisle called to us and I laughed once before we approached Kyle's car.

"I… Didn't your neighbor borrow your car?"

He shrugged. "They came back early." I nodded in approval as his silver BMW m5. "I'll get the door for you, miss," he said and I giggled, sliding into the car. The door was shut carefully next to me and he strutted in front of the car, getting into the driver's side. "Okay, Renesmee Cullen, are you ready to go?"

I sat back in my seat, grinning. "Oh, yeah."

Then Kyle stepped on the gas.


	13. Chapter 27&28

**I tribute to Phantom of the Opera fans. If you've never seen it, I suggest you got on that before you read this next chapter otherwise you'll have no idea what I'm talking about.**

**P.S. By the way, I totally made up the names for the people playing the Phantom and Christine. They're not actually actors as I far as I know...**

Chapter Twenty Seven:

'The Phantom of the Opera is Here, Inside Your Mind...'

When I stepped into the Chicago Opera House. I never expected to see what I did.

Mostly everything was a tan or gold color; tan marble stairs and pillars, a sand colored ceiling that had intricate carvings all around it and, best of all, beautifully magnificent gold chandeliers that hung in rose of six or more. The only thing different—the thing that stood out the most—was the red carpet that led you up the stairs and to the theatre.

"Kyle, this is amazing!" I whispered, clutching his arm tighter. "It's so gorgeous."

He nodded. "Agreed."

There was a billboard with the characters and their names. I scanned it quickly, seeing that Andrew Kingston was playing the Phantom and Julia Delmark was playing Christine.

We walked up the few stairs and entered into the main lobby, following the crowd of people until all of a sudden, Kyle jerked me to the right, pulling me away. "What are you doing? The entrance is that way..."

Kyle handed our tickets to a stiff looking man. He glanced at the two of us, then smiled softly. "Ah, yes. Come with me, please," he said, his voice smooth and suave. We followed the man up a flight of stairs before he drew back a curtain. "Enjoy the show."

"Thank you," Kyle said, nodding to him as he passed the curtain.

I began to follow, but the man stopped me. "Enjoy the show," he said again, softer this time, as he pointed up to the ceiling. I looked up and saw a gold sign hanging above the doorway arch. _Box 5 _was written on it and I sucked in a quick breath. "Have fun."

"Thank you very much," I said as I stepped into the box and pulled my shawl around my shoulders tighter. "That guy's nice."

Kyle looked up at me from previously scanning his program. "Is he? How so?"

"He just-" I stopped mid sentence, figuring that Kyle probably didn't know that Box 5 was The Phantom's seat in every performance that took place in _The Phantom of the Opera. _"Never mind." He patted the seat next to him and I nodded, going to sit down. I was about to smooth my dress over my butt so I could sit, but I stopped suddenly when I saw something resting against the back of my seat.

A blood red rose tied in a black ribbon. I reached down slowly and picked it up, holding the closed petals to my lips. "Kyle, did you do this?"

"Nope." I looked down at him and he raised his hands as if innocent. "I swear, Nessie."

I smiled, sitting down in my seat with the rose resting in my lap. I looked down into the theatre, seeing all the people dressed smartly in suits and gorgeous dresses. It was a sight to see; all beautiful colors moving around below me. I couldn't help but smile.

"I'm going to get us some drinks," Kyle said, getting up and heading out of Box 5.

Not even a minute passed by when the lights started do dim and the orchestra struck the first note of the overture. I began flicking my head around, unsure of what to do. I suddenly remembered my cell phone. Opening my clutch, I pulled out my phone and texted a message to Kyle saying it was starting. A moment later, I got one back saying he'd be here in a few minutes.

I let it drop, mainly because of all the people scurrying around the stage. Soon, I lost myself. I'd never scene _Phantom of the Opera _before—only in recordings—and witnessing it firsthand made my stomach flutter and goosebumps rise on my skin.

I didn't even notice when Kyle came back until he lightly tapped my shoulder. "Here; it's sparkling cider."I took the plastic campaign glass from him. "To us."

"To us," I said, clinking my glass against his just as the music for 'Angel of Music' began to play. "Why were you gone for so long? We're almost a third of the way in..."

Kyle froze, the glass halfway to his lips. "Uh... Well... It was a long line?"

My eyebrow arched. "Really? There was a long line when the performance just started and everyone was in their seats?"

"I got lost?" I giggled, sipping at my drink. "Let's just watch the show, shall we?"

I nodded sternly, turning back to the stage. "Ugh, I wish I could see this better." Instantly, a pair of binoculars appeared in front of my face. "Don't you want to look?" I asked, taking them.

"Here." He moved closer to me, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Now, if we put our faced together, you can use one and I'll use the other."

Kyle's warm cheek pressed against my own and I wanted to just wrap myself in his arms and never leave. I looked through one of the lenses, moving it so I could see the Phantom's ace. I stared at him for a long time. Something about his looked so familiar so someone I'd seen before. "You know..." I said, moving closer to Kyle, "the guy playing the Phantom looks really familiar."

He leaned forward, checking to see if I was correct. "You're right... Like... _Too _familiar." I nodded. "That's really weird. I can't place who he'd be."

"Yeah."

Kyle and I were silent. "Look in the program."

I flipped through it until I found The Phantom. "He's not there..." Kyle looked at me with a confused look on his face. "Look, his name isn't in my program..."

"Not in mine either..."

The red curtain fell and I sat back in my seat, sighing. "How long is intermission do you think?"

"Safe to say it's probably about ten to fifteen minutes."

"Damn." Kyle laughed once and I tried to glare at him, but he just kept on laughing.

He rose from his seat and picked up my glass. "I'll go get you some more, okay?"

I nodded, pulling my phone out of my clutch and opening it. I had a text message from Alice.

_How's the show? What's happened? Has he kissed you yet? Tell me! ~Alice_

My eyes rolled as I began to type a response.

_No, he hasn't. I'm waiting though.__.. ~Renesmee_

I sat in my chair, bored, as I waited, my foot bouncing at a million miles a minute. "Um, excuse me, miss?" I turned around to see the man who brought us to Box 5. "Someone asked me to deliver this to you..."

"Oh." I rose from my seat and stepped toward him. He handed me an envelope that was stiff and felt heavy. "Well, thank you..." I looked at his name tag "...Andy."

He gave me a nod and quickly disappeared. I flipped the envelope over and gasped. It was lined with red as well as a blob of wax shaped like a skull holding it closed. My heart started to pound. I couldn't understand what was going on... I carefully pulled off the seal and slipped out a piece of paper that had something scribbled on it in swirly handwriting.

_Enjoy the Show__... O.G._

My eyes widened. "Oh... My... God... What's- This is- Oh, my God."

"What?" I jumped when I noticed Kyle standing next to me, the glasses filled again with sparkling cider. "What's that?"

I showed him the skull seal and the note written on the paper. "It's signed O.G. That means Opera Ghost..." His eyebrows shot up. "Remember in the song when they were singing about notes? Well, they were all signed O.G."

He smiled slowly. "That's cool..." I nodded dumbly. "Well, the show's about to start again. We should sit down," he said, handing me the glass as we both lowered ourselves into the seats just as the lights began to dim.

Kyle scooted close to me, his face pressed against mine as we continued to share the binoculars. I kept them close on The Phantom, watching him closely as he paraded around the stage, completely unnoticed by the characters, watching him as he fought to near death with Raoul in a graveyard, Christine cowering shamefully in the corner, watching him as Christine removed his mask during their duet _Point of No Return. _As best I could, I focused the lenses even more, trying to figure out who he was.

The chandelier on the stage began to swing down and suddenly The Phantom and Christine fell into the floor, vanishing from my sight. "This is intense," Kyle whispered in my ear, leaning us forward as The Phantom tied Raoul to the gate that blocked his lair from the rest of the Opera Populaire, looping a noose around his neck.

_"This is the choice! This is the point of no return!_" he shouted, facing the tearful Christine.

My chin started to wobble and my eyes burned as the sorrowful scene began to unfold before me; Raoul, helpless and tied to a gate, The Phantom pouring out his heart and Christine bawling her eyes out as she did nothing to save her love.

I sniffed and felt Kyle remove his eye from the binocular lens and look at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I said, looking back at him. "It's just a sad scene." He nodded, wiping away my tears with his thumbs. "Come on, watch."

We turned back to the stage just in time to see Christine kiss The Phantom in attempt to free Raoul from death.

_"You alone can make my song take flight... It's over now the music of the night!"_

I saw Meg run across the stage and pick up the Phantom's mask, staring at it sadly before the red curtain was drawn and everything was hidden from me forever. Kyle sat up and looked at me with amused eyes as I attempted to fix my makeup. I dabbed away the mascara that was gathering under my eyes and he laughed.

I hit his stomach lightly. "Don't laugh. It's not funny." Kyle began to laugh more. "I'm serious. Makeup is an important part of a girl's stature. You don't laugh at the fact that she's trying to fix it, especially when the fixing is for you."

His face fell serious. "Oh, is it now." I nodded, carefully putting on some lip gloss. "Well, in that case, Renesmee Cullen, because you are fixing your makeup for me, I suppose I could as you a very serious question."

My eyes landed on his. "Okay..."

Kyle got down on the floor and took my left hand in his own. "Renesmee, you know I have feelings for you. And if you're looking this gorgeous on our first date, I'm hoping you have the same feelings, so I have to ask you... Will you, quite possibly, be the most awesome girlfriend?"

I giggled, my cheeks flaming up as his eyes filled with hope. "Yes, of course, I will!" I said, giggling again as he kissed my hand, smiling.

Kyle and I stood, out fingers linked together as we walked out of Box 5. "Wait! My rose.. My note!" I spun around and walked back, collecting the two items that were laid carefully on the floor. The theatre was empty by now and I looked at all the red seats and empty stage, smiling happily. "Good-bye," I whispered, slowly making my way back to Kyle.

When we entered the lobby, Andy was standing in the spot he was before, right next to the billboard with the actors and their names. "Have a good night," he said slowly, nodding his head to us.

"Thank you, you too," Kyle said, waving slightly to him.

I looked at Andy, then the billboard. _Andrew Kingston. _I inhaled quickly and he winked at me, whispering "Enjoy the Show."

My mouth fell and Kyle pulled me away. "That guy... Andy... He was the Phantom."

"What?" he said, opening the door to his car and allowing my to slide in.

I waited for him to get in his side. "The man, Andy, he played the Phantom." Kyle's brow creased. "He did! His name is Andy and the person who played the Phantom is named Andrew. Andy kept whispering 'Enjoy the show' and on my note, it says 'Enjoy the show.' We kept saying that the person who played the Phantom looked familiar. It's because he was Andy!" I gushed out, my words spilling out of my mouth like water from a cup.

Kyle turned onto the highway and headed toward my house. "Well, that's really cool, Nessie. Like, that probably _never _happens..."

I looked at him slowly. "...You... You did all that, did you?"

A smirk formed on his face. "Enjoy the show."  
~*~

Chapter Twenty Eight:

Friends… Friends… 'Friends.'

When Kyle pulled into my driveway and parked the car, I looked into the house and saw Jake peering through the front window. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, laughing once when he was suddenly yanked away by Emmett, his arms flying around him and his legs lifting off the ground.

"Jacob in, uh, quite the character," Kyle said softly, taking my hand in his. "Very unusual."

I nodded slowly. "Yes, he is." We were silent for a moment. "It's weird living with him, though, when he's as interesting as he is."

"Why _do_ you live with him?" he asked abruptly, breaking the whispering silence.

A smile broke across my face. "They were all adopted. Carlisle and Esme… My parents…" I said, catching myself, "…Adopted Bella, Emmett, Alice, Jasper and Rosalie after I was born." He nodded for me to continue. "Since siblings aren't allowed to be split up, they first got Bella, Emmett and Alice. I was about one when that happened. They're all older than me, though. I'm the youngest out of everyone…" For a second, I stopped, not sure where to continue. I wasn't told what I should say when people asked about my family, so I was making all of it up on the spot, terrified my lying wouldn't fly by him. But he seemed intrigued, so I kept going. "Then we moved to Forks, Washington where we got Jasper and Rosalie. After we were there for about two years, Jacob just kind of… came along. He wasn't adopted, we didn't know where he came from. All we know is that his parents had died and he needed somewhere to be… That somewhere was with us. After my sophomore year, we all moved and Jacob came with us and here we are in Chicago."

Kyle grinned. "Yes, here you are."

"Yes. But, we're all a family. We get along really well." Kyle got out of the car and opened the door for me, taking my empty hand as we wandered to the front door. "Anyway… I had a really good time. I loved what you did for me… The rose and box five and everything. It was very special."

He held his hands up guiltily, smiling. "Honestly, it was kind of cheesy."

I smiled. "No, no… It was cute." I took a step closer to him. "It meant a lot."

He closed the space between us. "It was my pleasure," he said softly, running his hands along my arms.

Our lips were only inches apart and my heart was beating erotically in my chest. Suddenly, as he was about to press his lips against mine, the front door swung open. "Okay, that's great, Nessie, you're an hour past your curfew. Thank you, little blond boy for getting her home. You can go now." Seth was talking a mile a minute, his arms out, one clutching the door, the other resting on the frame. "I think it's time you came inside, Nessie, or you're going to catch a cold." He grabbed my arm before I could even say anything and pulled me inside. "Thank you, again. Good night."

I could see Kyle was about to say something, but Seth slammed the door in his face, cutting him off. "Seth, what was that?" I said, taking my shawl off and hanging it on the coat rack near the door.

He smiled at me, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "You were past your curfew…" he said, nearly flouncing off to the kitchen as I slipped my shoes off my feet, one dangling in each hand.

I went to the window and saw Kyle walking to his car. Quickly, I tapped on the glass a few times until he turned around. "Sorry," I mouthed, making a sad face. Kyle smiled, waving his hand in the air a few times, brushing it off. He started walking to his car again but I tapped the window a few more times, blowing him a kiss. He pretended to catch it in his hand and then 'tucked' it into his suit pocket, the one inside his jacket near his heart. He nodded his head once to say good-bye. I waggled my fingers a few times then watched as he pulled out of my driveway and onto the road.

As I stepped away from the window, I saw Jake's reflection in the glass. "Hi," he said quietly when I turned around. I gave him a small smile but said nothing. "You look… really beautiful, Nessie."

I looked down at my dress and the shoes still hanging from my hands. "Well, thanks. It's the end of the night and that's when the date looks the worse, but thank you."

He gave me a small nod. "Can we talk? Maybe?"

I fiddled with the curls from my bun and looked at him skeptically. "Um…" Jacob gave me a hopeful look. "…Yeah, sure." I headed to my room, stopping halfway up the stairs. "Well, come on," I said, waving him toward me. Jacob slowly ventured to me, walking silently to my room. We stepped inside and I shut the door, walking into my closet. "Turn around," I mumbled, twirling my finger in the air as he did so, stripping out of the dress when I knew he wasn't looking. Quickly, I put on the sweatpants and tank top I'd been wearing earlier, hanging up the dress and putting the shoes on the shelf. I sat down on my bed. "Okay, you can turn around now."

He did so, standing awkwardly in the middle of my room. "Nessie, I just wanted to-" I tilted my head to the side innocently "-to, well, I want things to be okay between us."

My brow creased. "What do you mean? I think we're fine," I whispered, pulling the comb from Emmett and Rosalie out of my hair.

Take took a step toward me, fidgeting with his hands. "We never speak. We don't say hi or anything, unless the subject of us, our relationship or your relationship with Kyle is brought up."I looked at my feet. "We aren't friends anymore, Nessie." I wiggled my toes a few times, feeling the silk sheets brush against my skin. The mattress jumped when Jacob sat down next to me and pushed my long hair from my face. "Nessie?"

"I know," I said quietly, fiddling with the ties to my sweatpants and refusing to look at him. "I don't want to admit that's how things have gotten, but I guess that's who it is now."

"Nessie, we live together. We can't go on ignoring each other like this." I bit down on my tongue to keep the tears falling from my eyes. "I just want things to be civil between up. I want to be friends."

My eyes drifted to his and I smiled, reaching over to hug him. "Friends?" I asked, pulling away to look him in the eyes.

Jacob nodded slowly. "Friends."

We both laughed and hugged again, holding each other tighter.

For some reason, though, the word kept bouncing around in my head. _Friends… Friends… _"Friends."


	14. Chapter 29&30

Chapter Twenty Nine:

SNOW!

When I woke up on Monday morning, it felt like it was the first day of school again. I hadn't been to school for while, almost three weeks including Thanksgiving break, so, I knew there was a mountain load of homework I was going to have to catch up on, but for some reason it didn't really bother me all that much.

Heading quickly to my closet, I grabbed a random pair of pants and slipped them on, then threw a tank top over my head, shoving my feet into a pair of boots before grabbing some jewelry off my dresser and putting them on as I bounced down the stairs. Emmett and Jasper were on the couch, sporting jeans and t-shirts. _What I don't understand is that they hey such stylish wives, but they dress like they're going out to work... _I thought as I made my way to the kitchen where Esme was placing fruit on the table.

Annie, who might as well be living with us, was eating the inside of a grapefruit while she waited for the main course to be done cooking. "Good morning, sunshine," she said brightly, grinning at me as I sat down next to her. "You look cute."

I looked down at my outfit. "Oh, thanks!" I said, surprised. "I kind of just threw some stuff on, but thank you." I noticed she was looking very sporty herself, with a tight blue tank top, black skinny jeans and light blue Converse. "You look equally as adorable, though."

She smiled. "Well, thank you, dear. Nothing is mine, though. I ran out of clothes so Alice let me borrow her stuff. The shoes are Rosalie's, though." Her smile turned to an embarrassed grin as she bit her lip.

"Don't worry about it," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "You look fine and I'm sure Alice will let you borrow her clothes as long as you want to, but only if she's the one who gets to dress you."

"Well, that's no problem at all," she giggled, taking the last bite of her grapefruit as Esme put the plate of pancakes down.

"Breakfast!" she called, earning a heard of stomping feet as Seth, Quil and Jacob came thundering into the kitchen. "Okay, okay Sit down. You need to have fruit first."

Seth snorted. "What are you, my mother?" Her eyebrow shot into the air and Seth cowered back slightly, dishing cut strawberries and pineapple onto his plate. "Yes, ma'am."

Esme smiled. "Good. Alright, all of you. Even you, Renesmee." I frowned. "Come on, eat."

Jacob, who was sitting next to me, leaned closer, popping one of my raspberries into his mouth. "I suggest you do what she says. She may be the wonderful and caring woman, but when you don't listen to her, she's a lion just ready to tear you to shreds."

"I heard that," Esme said from the stove as she scrambled eggs together.

The wolf pack started snickering but when she flicked her spatula in the air, pointed right at us, they went right back to eating the fruit until it was gone. Esme came back over, giving us the rest of the food. "So, where's Claire?" Seth asked through his eggs, looking at Quil slowly.

"She's upstairs getting ready," Mom said, entering the kitchen. "Rosalie and Alice are helping her get dressed because she's freaking out from not having any clothes that fit but also from jitters."

I looked at my mother and my jaw instantly went slack. "Wow," I whispered, staring at her with wide eyes. My mother, who usually stuck to jeans and a plain t-shirt with a sweater or something to cover herself, was clad in black jeans, a flowy white top and tan peek-a-boo high heels. "You look... Awesome. And kids don't usually say that to their parents."

She looked down at herself, embarrassed. "Yeah... Thank you, sweetie. Alice insisted on dressing me today. She said, and I quote, 'I will not go to school with someone who looks like she came from hiking in the woods'," Mom said, using finger quotations. "Because apparently, I dress like I'm going hiking, only I distinctly remember her wearing something like Gucci at our last hiking trip."

My father laughed, kissing her as he walked past. "I remember that day well." He and Jacob threw each other goofy grins and Jacob laughed as Dad wandered to the fridge. "Nessie, anyone, do you want something to drink?"

"I'll have a double martini dry, three olives," Jacob said, smothering his pancakes in syrup and butter.

"Yeah, right. You, Jacob, can have orange juice," he said, pulling the carton out and bringing it over to the table. It was passed around, everyone pouring some into their glass. Quil poured some for himself as well as Claire and I took the last of it, tossing it back to Dad when I screwed the top back on. "Thank you, honey."

There was a silence for a while, everyone at the table stuffing their faces, even me and it was all very peaceful, then Claire came waddling into the room. She had a giant sweater on that hid her bump and no one spoke while she sat down, serving herself some food before digging in. Every once and while, someone would look at her as if something had happened and they didn't know how to react around her. It was weird. She just sat there, eating her food, and everyone else would just look at her for a second before going back to their own meal.

After about ten minutes of this, she tossed her fork down and looked at everyone. They cowered into their plates, acting as if nothing had happened. "What?" she demanded, completely confused.

"Nothing," Quil spat out quickly, shoving half a pancake in his mouth so we couldn't say anymore. Her eyebrow rose slightly. "Vhat?" His question was slightly difficult to understand around the pancake that was pretty much rolling around in him mouth.

"Why are you all acting like I don't know something?" Claire asked, pushing her hair out of her face and looking at me.

I held my hands up as if guilty. "Don't look at me, I don't know a thing."

She nodded and scanned the people at the table, all of them avoiding eye contact. "Then why are all of _you _acting like I did something bad that can never be spoken about? Why are you all acting so weird?" she asked, the corners of her mouth turning down. "Is it because I'm going to school with them?"

I choked on my orange juice, nearly spraying it all over the place. Jacob started hitting me on the back as I tried to speak. "What do yo-" _Whack. _"What do you mean you-" _Whack. _"Would you stop that!" I snapped, making him freeze. I looked back to Claire. "What do you _mean _you're coming to school with us?" I coughed out, my eyes wide. Claire, as well as the rest of the people at the table, gave me obvious looks. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Mom, who was now loosely braiding Claire's hair into pigtails, shrugged. "You weren't home when we discussed it." My jaw dropped. "Sorry, sweetie. We didn't think to tell you."

I waved my hand slightly, dismissing it. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's seriously no big deal. I mean, the only thing that's changing in my life is that my _pregnant best friend is now all of a sudden going to school with me!_" I forced out, glaring at my mother.

"Renesmee, I'm honestly really sorry. I suppose we just forgot..." Mom gave me a small smile and then, it was hard to be mad at her. She was my mom after all...

I sighed, stubbornly taking a bit of bacon. "It's fine." Everyone smiled. Even me after a while. "But, I _do _wish you had told me," I said, leaning back in my chair, which had Jacob's arm slung over the back of it. I could feel the warm of his skin transferring to mine, even if I was warmer than him. "Whatever."

Claire laughed. "Don't worry about it," she said, reaching over to squeeze my hand. "I'll be fine. I have you, Rosalie, Alice and the rest of your family to back mt up. Plus, this sweater thing is kind of hiding my bump. It'll be fine."

I wasn't so sure.  
~*~

After breakfast, I put my plate in the sink for Esme. I slipped my black pea coat on then grabbed my backpack, tossing it into the back seat before climbing into my car, which felt like I hadn't used it in years. It was nice to just sit there, my hands gripping the steering wheel for a moment. I suddenly remember I forgot my English book in my room and hopped out, running into the house and up the stairs.

"Hi, Jazz," I said as I passed him, giving him a quick high five. I grabbed my bag and ran back down the hall. "Bye, Jazz."

I was down stairs and almost out the door when someone called my name. "Nessie!"

I slowly stepped back in. "Yeah?" I responded, turning around to see Quil looming behind me. "What's the problem."

"No problem," he said, shaking his head a few times. "I just, um... You're going to be with Claire today, right? You're going to keep her going and stuff?..." I nodded, giving him a small smile. "Okay... Because I'm worried about her and stuff. I don't think your school has had a pregnant girl or anything and I want to make sure that she doesn't get, like, totally mortified today."

I put my hand on his face lightly, kissing his other cheek. "You are such a sweet boyfriend." He grinned. "Claire will be just fine with us. We'll have my parents, my aunts, Jacob and Annie. Claire will be okay today. Plus, we have Emmett and Jasper for intimidation purposes and will scare off any asshole who calls her something even remotely close to fat."

Emmett came idling up behind Quil, throwing his arm around his shoulder. "Yeah, dude. We'll scare them off faster than they can blink." Quil looked up at him with worried eyes and hew began to nearly chew his lip off. "Come on, man. This is me and Jasper we're talking about. We protect family, don't we?" Quil nodded. "Exactly. You've seen us defend the honor of our girls. Claire is one of us now. She'll be safe with me and Jasper by her side."

He laughed. "Alright, thanks dude."

The two of them gave each other 'bro-hugs,' and I rolled my eyes, patting Quil on the back before getting back into my car. I turned the key in the ignition and it hummed to life, making me smile. I hadn't driven for what seemed like months, even though it was only a few days. I was about to back out of the garage when Dad suddenly popped up, looming in my window. He knocked on the glass a few times and I rolled down the window, raising my eyes expectantly at him.

"Um, a few of us will be going to visit old friends of ours later today, in the evening preferably, so, I just wanted to let you know, because I might not see you after we get back from school, as I'm sure you will roam around for a while, since it's snowing."

I swear, my stomach dropped. Even though we lived in Forks for most of my life, I hadn't seen snow that often. It was mostly rain and ice there, and when Dad said there was snow, I nearly leaned out the window to see. Instead, I stuck my head out nonchalantly, trying to keep cool and saw about six inches of white and fluffy dust powdered on the ground.

"Oh, my God, no freaking way," I whispered to myself. I climbed out of the car and went to the edge of the garage, afraid to get my shoes all wet and damage them. Squatting down, I stuck my finer into the dust, smiling when it melted slightly from how much body heat I had—more than the average human and warm enough to have _Jacob _feel like a normal temperature. "Snow."

My dad laughed. "So, you'll be driving around for a while after school?"

Standing up, I dusted off my jeans which had accumulated snow from the wind rushing it around. "Not immediately after. I'll be home for a while, then I'll go out, maybe around five."

He nodded professionally, his hands clasped behind his back, then spun on his heel and marched away. Heading back to my car, I opened the door and was half in when I heard, "Nessie!"

"Jesus Christ, can you all just let me go to school? I want to check in with all my teachers and this is, like, the third time I've been stopped from achieving my goal!" I groaned, turning my head to look at who had called me. Jacob was standing there in jeans and a black sweatshirt, his hands shoved in the pockets. "Oh, uh, sorry... What do you want?"

He shrugged. "Nothing... Well, I mean, obviously something, but, if you need to get to school..." he said, trailing off.

"No, go ahead," I said, standing properly and looking at him. "What's up?"

After a while, Jacob spoke. "I was wondering if you wanted to ditch today..."

"Ditch school?" I asked, my eyebrow arched up to almost my hair line. He nodded. "Why? ...What made you think of this?"

"Dunno... It's not that cold outside and it's snowing. I know you love snow and everything... We could go down to Gyson Lake. There's this little place right off of it and it looks amazing in snow..." I bit my lip, unsure. "Come on, just for today?" he said, pouting in a way I found most adorable, even though we weren't together anymore. "Do don't even have to be gone for that long. We can just skip first period or something..."

I rocked back and forth awkwardly, struggling to go backwards as I had my heels on. "Well, uh, sure." His eyes lit up. I'd love to. I just have study first period anyway, so it won't be that big of a deal. My teacher is, like, never there anyway."

He smiled. "Awesome. Just let me get my bag. To make it look like we're going to school and everything..." I nodded and finally got into my car, pulling the seat belt over my chest. He returned in a moments time with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He got into the driver's seat and gave me a quick glance as I started to pull out.

I was barely out of the driveway when my phone started to ring. "Hello?"

"Nessie!" Alice was hyper, I could tell, since her voice was higher pitched than usual. "I just wanted to tell you that some of us will be-"

"I already know, Alice," I said, turning onto the main road from our privet one and hitting the accelerator. "Dad told me."

"Oh." Her voice sounded slightly disappointed. "Well, alright. I just wanted to make sure." I made some incoherent noise, taking a sharp turn to the right. "Okay, well, have fun on you're little adventure and I'll see you after first period." I was silent. "Oh, and don't get your boots all slushy. They're one hundred percent suede."

And then she was gone. My eyes were wide from shock and as I pressed 'End' on my phone, Jacob looked at me. "Who was that?"

"Alice," I said in slight monotone. "She said to have fun on our adventure... She knows we're skipping." His eyebrows rose. "But she didn't say anything bad about it. She only told me to watch out for my boots."

"Fascinating," he said in a truly astonished voice, stroking his chin. "How... Odd. And interesting... DO you think she's gone insane?"

I shook my head slowly, turning on the heat even though between Jacob and I, there was plenty to go around. "No, I don't think she's insane. More like used to people skipping. I mean, you did kidnap Mom from school once."

He whipped his head to look at me. "Who told you that?"

"Mom did. She tells me all kind of things about you. I don't think he means to, but she does. Like, how you had this super massive crush on her before she and Dad got married and how you kissed, then she punched you, but ended up breaking her hand." Jacob laughed. "Lots of stuff."

Jake nodded slowly. "I see..." I blew a gust of air from my lips. "Well, that's... great. At least we won't get in trouble with your family."

"And they know I'm with a friend."

For some reason, that word tasted weird on my tongue, like calling Jacob a friend wasn't something that should be happening. It was as if me calling him that suddenly made this bad taste come flooding in, like when you eat something that's gone bad, but you don't know it. It was bizarre. But, I shrugged it off easily, turning into a little dirt path that lead to the woods that were off set the lake. Ther wasn't much snow on the ground and I was thankful for that because I didn't want to go stomping though almost a foot of snow, especially after Alice told me to watch it.

Parking in a little area of white grass, Jacob and I climbed out and started walking toward the area in which he claimed to be gorgeous under show. I held my coat close to my body and for some reason, I felt freezing. My teeth started chattering, but I didn't understand why, since I was warmer that Jacob. He grinned though, slipping his arm around my shoulders and holding me tight, his heat seeping through my clothes.

"Okay, we're almost there," he whispered, rubbing his hand along my arm to warm it. With a nod, I shuffled closer to him, hugging his middle. We reached a little opening in the trees we had been walking under and Jacob suddenly put his hand over my eyes. "I want it to be a surprise," he said, guiding me the rest of the way.

I suddenly felt cold again when Jacob let me go, his hand still over my eyes. "Alright, on the count of three... One... Two... Three."

On that count, I opened my eyes, looked around, and gasped.  
~*~

Chapter Thirty:

Snow and Paint... But Not Together

As I said before, I love snow. When we were in Forks, it was rain or hail, and nothing else. Except on the mountain. But that doesn't really count, because I've never been there. But, Mom said it was freezing.

So, Jacob, who has been around me my whole life, obviously knows this. Taking me to that clearing was probably the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.

It was surrounded with ever green trees, ones that were taller than those in Forks. The branches were weighed down by the snow, making it look like blankets of crystal. Icicles hung from every branch, as if someone had put them there. Each one was reflecting off light, like little rainbows flashing around. The ground was dusted, like powdered sugar and the snow was drifting lightly from the sky. It wasn't very light outside, and everything had a tint of blue.

It all took my breath away, making me gasp. "Oh, my goodness," I said quietly, my hands fluttering to my cheeks. "This is so beautiful."

Jacob gave me a small smile. "Take the first step," he said, displaying the untouched snow with a sweep of his hand.

I didn't want to ruin the snow. It was so perfect and beautiful that one step might shatter the heavenly image, but, at the same time, snow was my favorite type of weather, and, honestly, when it came to snow, I would throw my shoes into a mud puddle if it meant I could walk in the pretty white powder, so, I took the first step, printing my foot in the snow.

"Congratulations, Nessie," he said, walking next to me and taking my hand, holding it tightly.

I turned and hugged him. "This is so beautiful, Jacob." He rested his chin on my head. "Thank you so much for bringing me here."

"You're welcome."

I felt him kiss my temple softly and my back went rigid. I didn't want to turn it into something that it wasn't, but when his lips started to move down my cheek, I shifted away from him. "What is this, Jacob?" I said in a quiet voice, looking at my shoes. "Why are you acting like this?"

"I'm not acting like anything." I gave him a sad look, my eyebrows pushing together. "Look, I'm sorry. I know what we said. We're friends. But, you're gotta look at this logically, from my side. I love you. I have since the moment I saw you. You're everything to me."

I was silent. The feeling I had before had drained and now my chest was tight. I didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted to leave. "I know I am," I said finally, pushing my bangs from my face. "But, I'm with Kyle, Jake. I care about him a lot and I think that I may even-"

He held his hand up, quieting me. "Please, don't say it." I chewed on my bottom lip, rocking back and forth on my feet. "We're friends, Nessie. I'm sorry." With a nod from me, Jacob smiled. "Wanna build a snow man?"

I grinned.  
~*~

The snowman was colossal. Like, no joke, it was about seven feet tall. I had to sit on Jake's shoulders to get the head onto the middle part, but in the end, it was the most epic snowman ever in creation.

And it was finished before first period was over. We made it back to school in record time, and with a beautifully crafted fake note from Mom, Jake and I made out way to Algebra, taking our seats as if nothing had happened.

Kyle was sitting there, fiddling with something and when I sat down, he looked at me. "I waited for you in the parking lot this morning," he said quietly, clenching the object in his hand.

"Oh, sorry." I kissed his cheek, which was a rosy pink color. "Some of us slept in late because we had studies first period."

He nodded, moving his clenched hand closer to mine. "That's okay." We both laughed, instantly earning a glare from the teacher. When he turned back around, Kyle put his hand over mine. I flipped it so my palm was facing up and he placed something in it, grinned, then went back to copying the formulas on the board.

It was a little brown cardboard box, like the ones that souvenir jewelry comes in. It felt really light and I took off the lid, smiling. There was a necklace inside, a diamond surrounded by two silver loops. I recognized it from the Kay Jewelers commercials for the Love's Embrace necklaces. The smaller loop had stones placed in it and they twinkled, like stars winking up at me.

"Since I didn't get you anything for your birthday," he whispered without looking at me. "Just a little something."

I took it out of the box and clasped it around my neck, looking at the small pendant that rested on my chest bone. "Thank you," I said, kissing his cheek again. "It's beautiful and I love it. That was very sweet of you."

"Shh!" the teacher said in the most obnoxious way possible. "Miss Cullen, Mr. Jones, pay attention." Several of the students snickered. "Hey, guys, come on. Eyes forward. Pay attention."

Everyone turned back to the white board. Kyle and I looked at each other and laughed once. For the rest of class, we didn't talk, but we did hold hands. I considered myself lucky that when it came to writing, I was a lefty and he was a righty.  
~*~

It was time for lunch. I hadn't seen Claire at all, but thanks to Alice, I knew her schedule, so I wandered down the hall and to the art room.

They had just been let out and every student who was walking out had paint all over them. Head to toe, each one of them looked like a Jackson Pollock painting, with red, blue, purple and other colored paints splattered all over their clothes, skin and hair.

Claire was the last one out, and she was the worst of everyone. "Hey, Nessie!" she said brightly, waving an orange splatted hand at me.

"What happened?" I said, laughing.

"We had a paint fight! This girl, Jenna, she said that the new girl always had to get splattered with paint if she was in Art when she came to school. But, they said, since I was pregnant, I could splatter her, too! So, I did. But, then, when she tried to get me a second time, I ducked and Jenna hit this boy, Mitchell. Then it turned into this whole huge war between the boys and the girls! We won," she said, her excitement cooling at the end, though her face was still bright and ecstatic.

I gave her a little nod, looking her over again. "Well, it sounds like a lot of fun, but, Rosalie is going to kill you for what you did to her clothes."

With a chagrin look on her face, Claire glanced down at her jeans, tank top and loose sweater. "Oh, I forgot I was wearing her stuff." I noticed the only thing un-splattered were the flat bottom boots she was wearing. "Oh, well," she said with a shrug. "I'll deal with it when it comes time."

"Right." We linked our arms together. "To lunch?"

She nodded. "To lunch."

We headed off to cafeteria, making sure to stop by my locker so I could get my water bottle. I didn't want to have to deal with the disgusting food at this school anymore, so I was sticking to blood. My family was already sitting at a table and with a brave face, Claire and I marched right over to Rosalie. She, like me, was decked out in black and gray, with cute little snowflake earrings and gloves with bows on them.

When Claire stopped and sat down at the table, her head slowly turned to look at her. "Oh... My... God... Claire... You- I- What?"

"I had art."

"Is this going to happen every time you have art?" Claire shook her head and Rosalie groaned. "Well, I don't love those clothes, and you managed to keep the boots safe." The two of them grinned. "And, so, you're safe too. But, just this once."

They shook hands. "Agreed," Claire said in a professional voice, giving Rosalie a firm nod.

Lunch continued on with my family jabbering away for a while. Jacob came in five minutes after Claire and I did, instantly diving into the grocery store he had brought with him for lunch; three sandwiches, a bag of Oreos, a bottle of soda and a banana. I didn't even want to know how he could eat all that stuff, but, I thought I'd ask anyway.

"Jake, how do you not, like, explode after eating basically the entire convenience store for lunch?" I said, taking a swig from my water bottle.

He shrugged. "I suppose it's all a matter of epicness and skill," he said around a sandwich. I rolled my eyes. "Hey, listen, Nessie... Just because you can't stand to eat human food doesn't mean you can go insulting my win of a lunch."

"What win? You're eating what a whale would eat."

"On the contrary," he said, holding his pointer finger up at me. "Whales eat krill... Which are very small. They just have to eat it in big proportions."

I frowned at him. "Well... I... Fine then!" He smiled triumphantly. "You're just annoyed because I don't have to eat a lot to survive."

"You don't have to eat anything to survive. You drink it all." My eyes narrowed. "Don't cross me, Nessie. I _will _win, and you know I will."

The two of us stared at each other for a while, an immature staring contest taking place before we suddenly looked away and went on with eating as if nothing had happened. Annie and Claire were talking about prom, which was in about a month. I groaned at the thought. Dressing up and making yourself look pretty for just one night of dancing. Hell, I could do that, like, every night. Why do I all of a sudden have to make it this huge deal and whatever? I don't. But, for some reason, I found myself getting sucked into the conversation, talking about what kind of dress I would be wearing, and what color pallets.

"I'm thinking gold," Annie said, moving her hands in front of her face like she was displaying a banner. "Everything has to be gold. Rosalie said she'd help me, since she was doing all green. It'll be awesome."

I nodded slowly. "Not a lot of colors go with bronze," I said thoughtfully, twisting an end of my hair around my finger. "Maybe, like, a navy blue or something? I don't know..."

"You'd have to make it a baby doll dress," Claire said, crunching down on a piece of celery. "And it would have to be paired with silver." I nodded, my mind wandering to the masquerade dance that had happened. Jasper had made me cry, Jacob showed me he could dance and Kyle proved he cared about me. The dress I had worn was a teal/aqua color and even though it was pretty, I kept thinking about how it didn't really go with my hair. And everything centers around the hair. "The color definitely has to be dark."

Claire and Annie nodded, their eyes widening when a tallish girl with curly brown hair came sauntering up to the table. She went right over to Jacob and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Jacob."

He turned around and looked at her. "Oh, hey, Kayleigh," he said, giving her a giant grin. Turning back to us, he said, "Guys, this is Kayleigh. She's in my Communications Studies class." Kayleigh waved at us, waggling her fingers timidly. "So, uh, what's up?"

Right away, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink color. "Well... Um... I came over because... Because... I didn't get the homework for class today. I was wondering if you could tell me what it was... Yeah... That's the reason I came over."

Jacob nodded and for some reason, my hand clenched into a fist. "Oh! Yeah, um... Remember the packet he gave us? Well you have to-"

"Actually, that's not the reason I came over," she said suddenly, interrupting him. "I actually came over because... Because..." She looked at the ground. "Do you want to go to prom with me?"

I nearly fell off my chair. I jumped in my chair, my hands gripped the underside of it so tightly I could feel the plastic start to break. I had slid off, so my butt was right on the edge, like I was going to fall off. And I might as well have. It would have been better than hearing what Jacob had to say next.

"Mm," he said quietly, as if in thought. "Well, Kayleigh, I like your offer." She giggled quietly. I thought I was going to puke. "You know what? Yeah, I will. I'd love to."

A smile spread across her face, showing her perfect white teeth. "Okay, great." They both nodded, grinning stupidly at each other. "I'll, uh, see you in Com. Studies."

"Yeah, see you then."

"Okay, bye."

She gave a pitiful wave then walked away, her hair swishing around her shoulder blades with each step that she took. As I watched her leave, my eyes moved with her, watching her until the very last step when she reached her friends. Sure, it was a little creepy to do so, but she asked Jacob to prom. She asked _Jacob _to _prom. _Are they shitting me right now? Is this something that was really happening? Jacob was going to prom. With this chick I didn't even know.

Not like I really _cared _or anything, but, we have history. And for him to all of a sudden go to prom with Kayleigh McGigglepants? No, this was not okay.

This was most definitely not okay.


	15. Chapter 31&32

Chapter Thirty One:

Chicken Timer

When school was over, I headed out to my car to find Jacob leaning against the driver's side door. "I, uh, came to school with you. I need a ride," he said, wrapping his knuckles against the red metal a few times.

I nodded slowly, standing in my spot as I waited for him to move. "Yeah, okay." He pushed himself up using his shoulder blades and grinned at me, wandering to the passenger's side and climbing in. I tossed my bag into the trunk and shut it, getting in the car before pulling out of the school parking lot. "So, how was _your _day?"

He arched an eyebrow at me. "You say that is if you had a bad one... Like you want me to have a bad one too."

I failed at hiding a smile. "Well, I mean, it was okay. I was kind of hoping Kyle would ask me to prom today, but..." He nodded as if he understood. How could he understand? He has a date to the prom. Freaking Kayleigh Whats-Her-Face. "Oh, and, um, congrats on Kayleigh asking you to prom."

Jacob shrugged nonchalantly. "It's whatever."

"What do you mean, it's whatever? She's kinda... Cute." What was I doing? I didn't want him to go to prom with her. I mean, I didn't want to go to prom with Jacob, but I didn't want him to go at all. He can't go with her.

"Yeah, I guess, but she's more of a friend or something." My grip tightened on the wheel. "I mean, she's nice and everything. I just don't... Like her like that, I guess..."

I waved it off. "Well, whatever. I think she's cute. You guys should date." I could feel him staring at me. "But, um, other than that, how was your day?"

He shrugged again. "It was fine, I guess. Stupid classes, stupid teachers, hilarious classmates."

There was silence. I could feel it. It was like it was crawling up my arms, into my hair and giving me goosebumps, but not the good kind. The awkward kind. And that silence hung in the air until I got home, it was just there, the whole time. While I parked, I could feel it inching down my back, onto my legs, then around my ankles, like it was going to pull me under the water of awkwardness until I drowned.

Annie was right there waiting for me when I got out of the car. She was so close and I didn't see her when I climbed out of the car that I jumped from fright when I saw her. "Gah! Annie, what are you doing here?"

She giggled. "Claire and I got out of school early. Our math teacher canceled class because she wanted to be able to pick up her kids, so we got to leave." She looped her arm through mine. "Oh, Jacob, dear, grab Nessie's bag, will you?" Jacob saluted her sarcastically as Annie pulled me through the door and into the kitchen. "We're making cookies!" she said, taking a spoon and scooping some of the batter into her mouth before giggling again.

"And you're getting a sugar high off of it." I looked at Claire. "Did Esme say you could use her stuff?" I said, scooping some of the batter for myself.

My paint splattered friend nodded, cracking an egg into the bowl before continuing to mix. "Yep. She went to the store to get us some more flower, but she said we could use everything else until then." I noticed that there were two empty flower bags, as well as one empty sugar bag and an empty carton of eggs. "We kind of cleaned out the kitchen, but no matter. She said it was okay."

My eyebrows shot up. "She also told us to tell you that everyone is going out to visit some friends... Charlotte and Peter. And that they'll be gone all night. You're not allowed to have any parties," Annie said, measuring chocolate chips into cup. "Yeah. Like, everyone is going. Vampire wise anyway. _Your _side of the family."

"As oppose to your side?" They nodded. "Right. Well, that's not a surprise. My dad said something about that earlier this morning, so, yeah."

They nodded again, completely involved with what they were doing. Suddenly, Claire stopped, putting a hand on her stomach. "Ooh, it moved."

Annie squealed, running over to put her hands on Claire's continuously growing bump. She was about four months along now and in the stage where she feels she needs to announce every time the baby moves or kicks or whatever. She'll just be sitting on the couch with Emmett and Jasper, and suddenly, in the middle of the football game their watching, she'll shout, 'It kicked!' Or, like a few days ago, she was in the shower and she screamed at the top of her lungs, 'It moved, then kicked, then moved again!' Though I found it annoying, I couldn't help but find it adorable that she was being a mom.

"Oh, my God, Claire," I said, standing up straight from m casual position against the fridge. "You had an ultrasound yesterday."

She waved her hand. "I moved it." My eyebrow arched at her. "I just didn't want to go, so I moved it to tomorrow."

"Oh."

Claire grinned at me. "Yeah, it's during lunch. I told your parents you were driving me, so they're going to write us notes."

"Lovely." Claire nodded, taking a sip from a water glass and sitting down in a chair, letting out a sigh. "Well, I'm going to go put on something comfortable and sleep."

Annie froze. "You're not going to help us?"

"I'd love too, but, I'm exhausted. Jacob and I built a giant snowman. I'm really tired."

Without waiting for a response from the two of them, I took off my jacket and trudged upstairs, kicking off my boots before changing into a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt that my mom had. I crawled into bed and put my cell phone on my nightstand, setting the alarm for six thirty, when it would be dark around for me to go drive around and look at the houses. I loved all the Christmas lights, even though it was only November people still put them up, so I was definitely looking forward to that, especially since they'll be up, while it's snowing. It was like a bonus.

An icy, beautiful bonus.  
~*~

My alarm began going off right when I set it, at six thirty, and I wanted to hurl it across the room. But I couldn't, because then my phone would be destroyed, so, instead I reached out for it and pressed dismiss. Setting it back on my nightstand, I pushed back the covers and sighed, stretching my legs and arms.

It was pitch black in my room, so I reached for the light switch, turning it on and looking around. Everything was as I'd left it three hours ago, with clothes strewn about the floor, books and papers everywhere.

It made me smile, all the junk all over the floors, and I giggled when I had to dance around it all to get to my bedroom door. I could hear Emmett and Claire on the couch, as per usual, shouting at the TV when someone missed a touchdown or something like that. I instantly scurried down the hall and down the stairs, seeing them sitting on the edge of the couch, gripping the cushions and their eyes glued to the screen.

"Hey, guys..." I said, pushing my bangs out of my face as I tied my hair up in a ponytail.

"Hey," they said back at the same time, waving me off completely while Claire munched on chips and onion dip.

I let them be. They were in their football zone, and I wasn't about to cross the line and get my head bitten off by a pregnant teenager and a vampire. As I crossed to the kitchen, I passed my Rosalie. She was dressed up in nice clothes; a pair of gray jeans that were tucked into black boots, a red loose top and red jewelry to match.

"Hey, Rose," I said, getting nothing in response as she blew right past me and to the living room, where Emmett and Claire were still residing.

"Emmett! Get off your ass and get dressed!" was the first thing she said to him, following that up with, "God, you're such a lazy lump. We're leaving, like, now."

I heard him snort. "Rosalie, babe, I am dressed."

She was silent for a minute. "... That's what you're wearing?" I giggled, marching back into the living room. Emmett was clad in sweatpants and an old sweatshirt. "You look like you just got out of bed."

"I did just get out of bed," he said, grinning and raising his eyebrows as Rosalie stomped her foot. "Come on, babe, calm down. It's fine."

Claire paused the TV, looking up at Rosalie with wide and innocent eyes. "Rosalie, you look very pretty tonight." My aunt flashed her a smile. "So pretty, in fact that Emmett is sneaking away from the couch right now so he can go change and make it so you won't be mad at him later, so then he can sleep with you."

Rosalie and I looked up and saw in fact that Emmett was dashing up the stairs, his sweatshirt already off. I rolled my eyes. "Your husband is insane," I said, patting her shoulder before going to my original destination; to the kitchen. "Evening, Esme."

She was dressed in a purple dress with lack jewelry and high heels. "Hello, sweetie. We're just about to leave, but dinner is arming up in the oven. You just need to take it out in about twenty minutes and serve it up."

"What _is _dinner?" She showed me the chicken that was roasting. "Oh, lovely." With a nod, she shut the oven and stood up straight. "Could you put a timer on the microwave or something, so I remember? Because if you don't remind me in some way, I'll forget."

"Yes, dear, I can." She set up a time then went to the closet, grabbing Carlisle's jacket and laying it across her arm. "Kids! Carlisle! It's time to leave!" I heard a bunch of foot steps, some of them clad in heels, others in sneakers, coming to the front door. All I could see was a blur of pink, gold and blue, then the door shut.

"...Wow..." I said, going to the fridge and finding a pitcher of apple cider, pouring myself a glass before I went to join Claire on the couch. "So, how are you?" I asked in an attempt to make conversation.

She smiled, the onion dip balanced on her stomach as she leaned against the back of the couch, lazily dunking chips into the bowl. "I'm fine, Nessie, how are you?"

I shrugged, taking a chip for myself. "I'm fine, I suppose." She turned toward me slightly, adjusting the bowl. "I don't know. I mean, I do know, but, I don't." One of her eyebrows shot up in the air. "It's prom."

"Oh," she said silently, nodding her head understandingly as she crunched on a chip. "Are you worried that Kyle won't ask you?" I kind of half nodded, not really moving my head. "Well, you two are in a relationship, aren't you? I mean, he gave you that necklace." She tapped her finger on the charm quickly, smiling. "You're kind of in a relationship. Point is, he's going to ask you. I mean, prom is in a month. And you're going on dates and flirting and kissing and whatever. He'll ask you."

Chewing on my lip, I looked around to see if anyone else was around. There wasn't anyone, so I leaned closer to Claire, ready to let her know about what had been eating at the back of my mind since lunch. "I also don't want Jacob to go to prom with Kayleigh."

She sucked in a sharp breath. "What do you mean you don't want Jacob to go to prom with Kayleigh?"

I sighed. "Well, I mean, I do want to go to prom with Kyle, and I don't want to go to prom with Jacob, but I don't want him to go to prom with someone else..."

"You want him to suffer and not go to prom?" I shook my head. "So, you want to go to prom and have a good time, but you don't want Jacob to go to prom with someone he wants to go with and you don't want him to have a good time."

"What? No!" I said, laughing. "I just... Don't want him to go to prom... With her. There's something about her... I don't know. I mean, she's cute and everything, don't get me wrong, I'm sure she's a great person, but I feel like she's up to something. And not something good. Like, she's conspiring to do something. But, obviously she's not because she's just a normal teenage girl, with a normal teenage life and she has nothing stopping her from going to prom with Jacob, who isn't living a normal life. I just, don't like her."

Claire gave me a look. "Are you serious?" she said teasingly, batting my shoulder lightly. "Nessie, that's awful! You're such a mean person!"

Even though she was laughing through her words, I could tell she meant it. She had this look in her eyes, one that said she would be having this conversation with Annie after I let it go. I knew that right when I said it was time for dinner, she'd say she had to do something quickly, and she'd race up to one of our guest rooms, where Annie spent most of her time locked in, and tell her exactly what I told Claire. And she wouldn't hesitate to do it either.

Annie and Claire, as much as I loved them, had taken to gossiping about me behind my back. I knew that they found it strange that I was with Kyle, even though Jacob imprinted on me or whatever. I supposed that was just the way life worked. Jacob used to be my best friend, and now we barely talk. I missed him, and I missed him more than necessary, but it is what it is.

Isn't it?  
~*~

Chapter Thirty Two: The Mall, Prom, Tuxes, Jacob. Well… Shit.

"Wake up."

My pillow was ripped from over my head and a blare of light was flashed in my face. I shielded my eyes, rolling over so I was out of the angle that window was in. Rosalie was standing in my bedroom, wearing white jeans and a blue/gray layered top with her hands were planted on her hips. I caught a glimpse of a sapphire ring that Emmett had given her for their anniversary a few years ago.

"Rosalie, it's the morning."

She grinned. "It's also Saturday. And the mall is going to be crowded. Get out of bed, get dressed and get down stairs. Lots of getting. Now, get going!" she said, pulling all my covers off of me and making me jerk into a ball at the cold. "Come on! Prom dresses await!"

I glared at her. She glared back then stomped out of my room. Sitting up, I stretched my arms out to my toes before climbing out of bed and heading to my closet. I did as told, putting on a pair of black jeans and a pink top, pairing it with silver flats and a Tiffany's key necklace. I wandered back into my bedroom, going to my vanity table and sitting on the stool. There was a pair of earrings that I hadn't worn since I looked like I was six years old that had been sitting there for a few years. I looked at them for a moment then shrugged, slipping them into my ears before starting to line my eyes with eyeliner.

As I was putting on some mascara, Claire came waddling into my room, wearing what appeared to be the most comfortable clothes in the history of the world; sweatpants, a tank top with a sweater over it, flip flops and a black beanie. She had her glasses on, as it was the weekend so she didn't wear her contacts.

"Why do you get to wear comfortable clothes?" I said, planting my hands on my hips firmly.

She did the same, but over exaggerated. "Because, Miss Cullen, I am pregnant!" she said, twirling her braid around on her finger. "You can't expect me to be looking cute, especially on a Saturday." I rolled my eyes. When I looked back to her, Claire was looking me over and pretending to stroke a beard. "You know, I have this bracelet that would be perfect for your ensemble."

"Um… Okay, sure." She shuffled out of the room and returned a few moments later, handing me a silver linked bracelet. "Ooh, this is pretty," I said, clasping it around my wrist before looking at it closely. There was a heart charm on it that had Tiffany's Jewelry & Co. written on it. "When did you get this?"

She waved her hand. "Oh, a while ago. I think my mom gave it to me for my birthday a couple years ago."

I stopped and looked up at her. "How are things going with your mom?" She reached forward and took my hand. "No, Claire, I don't want to see…"

"Just watch."

_Claire and Quil were in Honey Star Café, sitting in a table by the door. They were holding hands, his thumb running across her knuckles as they sipped nonchalantly at their drinks. Suddenly, the bell above the door rang. Claire glanced toward the door quickly, then did a double take when she saw her mother walking in with a brisk step in her walk. She marched right past Claire and Quil. _

_"Oh, my God," she said quietly, looking down at the table. Quil raised an eyebrow at her. "Look over at the counter." He turned around, but then she kicked him under the table. "Be subtle!" _

_Slowly, he turned his head, looking at Claire's mom. "Oh, wow." She nodded slowly. "I can't believe she's here." _

_"I haven't spoken to her in three months, Quil," Claire said in a desperate voice, giving him a look of fear. "Not since she kicked me out of the house…" _

_After paying for her coffee, Claire's mom turned around then froze. "Oh…" The two of them stared at each other. "Hello, Claire." _

_"Hi, Mom." _

_Anya Young looked at her daughter and Quil, who were looking at her with slightly scared faces. "Nice to see you… After all that time." Claire nodded slowly, digging her nails into Quil's palm. "And you too, Quil." He gave her a half smile. "So, um, you're still pregnant?" _

_Claire turned away from the table and showed her mother her belly. "Generally, it takes about nine months… It's only been four." Mrs. Young nodded, her lips pressed into a white line. "So, what are you doing here?" _

_Anya took a small step toward her daughter. "I came to talk to you, sweetie. Dr. Cullen told me you were here with them." Silently, Claire cursed Carlisle, but looked at her mom with blank eyes. "Can… Can we go somewhere?" _

_"We are somewhere, Mom." _

_"How 'bout the park? It's nice out, and I'd like to take a walk." Claire looked over to Quil and he nodded, leaning over the table to kiss her cheek quickly. "Shall we?" _

_Claire stood up, putting her coat on. "Yes, Mother, we shall." _

_Then, side by side and it total silence, Claire and Anya walked to the park, finding a bench to sit down on. "So, Claire, how have you been?" _

_"Pregnant." Her mother nodded slowly. "How… How are you?" _

_"I miss you." Claire stopped at the sudden forwardness of her mother. "Listen, Claire, sweetie, I wanted to talk to you about something important." The teenager looked at her mom with blank eyes, her hair blowing in the cold wind that rushed around her. "I really want you to come home, back to Forks." _

_Claire's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" _

_Her mother nodded, leaning back against the back of the bench. "Things aren't the same without you around. I think I just over reacted about a silly little baby. But, you know, I'm surprised you're still with Quil. I thought he was going to run away when he found out you were pregnant." _

_"He wouldn't do that. I'm his imprint, Mom." _

_She nodded. "Oh, I know sweetie, but, the whole thing with the imprints and werewolves, how sure is that anyway?" _

_"Pretty damn sure." They looked at each other for a moment. "Mom, that's what they do. It's how they are. You've seen Emily and Sam. You know it's real." _

_Mrs. Young waved her hand. "Sweetie, you're father believes all that, but I don't. It all seems so… supernatural." Claire bit down on the inside of her cheek. "Of course, Quil is a nice boy and it's wonderful that you two are still together, but who knows how long he'll stay around for." _

_"He'll stay around forever, Mom. That's what imprints do. They're meant for each other." Her mother snorted. "They are." _

_"Please, Claire. Do you honestly believe that?" _

_"How do you not?" _

_Anya ran her hands over her knees a few times as if warming them. "Claire, sweetie, let's be realistic. You don't know that Quil is going to stay with you forever." Claire's fingers pressed tightly against her belly. "He's just another boy. You don't know whether he'll leave or not." _

_"Yes. I do." _

_"Come on now, dear." She raised on eyebrow at her mother. "You're just another girl to him. He'll be done and over with you soon, once that thing comes." _

_Claire froze, her breathing halting and her eyes widening. "What?" she whispered, looking down at the ground as her hair fell in front of her eyes. "What did you say?" _

_"I said 'once the baby comes'," she said, pushing Claire's hair out of her eyes. _

_She jerked away. "No… You called it 'that thing.' You called my baby a thing." _

_"Don't be silly, Claire, I didn't." Claire glared at her mother. "I didn't call it a thing, Claire, I-"_

_"I heard you, Mother," Claire said, standing up suddenly. "I heard you the first time, when you said you wanted me out of the house. I heard you when you called my baby a thing." _

_Anya reach out to Claire, but she shuffled out of the way. "Claire, please. Be reasonable. You can't spend the rest of your life going around on school girl fairy tales that the boy who got you pregnant will stay with you forever." _

_"But, he will, Mom. It's how he is." _

_They stared at each other for a moment. "Claire, I just don't know about this. You're sixteen, and Quil, he's… Well, he's not exactly young." _

_"What are you trying to say, Mother?" Claire said in a sly voice. _

_"And with you being around those… those monsters," she said, continuing without listening to Claire. "Werewolves and vampires aren't real. They _shouldn't _be real, and you shouldn't be pregnant with that thing." _

_Claire froze. Her breath stopped and her eyes widened, but only slightly. "What did you just say?" Her mother looked at her, confused. "Did… Did you just all my baby a thing?" _

_Anya shook her head. "No, I didn't, darling, I said-" _

_"Yes, you did," Claire interrupted, a snap in her tone as she turned to Anya. "You did. You said I was pregnant with 'that thing'." _

_Her mother shook her head again. "No, Claire, you must have heard me wrong. I said-" _

_"I heard you,_ Mother. _I heard you three months ago when you kicked me out of my own home. I heard you when you called me a week later and told me to never come back." Anya reached out to Claire, but her daughter wrenched away. "I heard you when you called my boyfriend, and my best friend, a monster. And I most _definitely _heard you when you called my baby, your grandchild, no less, a thing." _

_"Now, Claire, I-" _

_She glared at her mother. "No, Mom, not this time. I'm tired of all this. All my life, Quil has been there for me, and you haven't been. It's always like this, Mom. You're never been around when I needed you, and when you do come around, you make me feel like the gum scraped off someone's shoe, and I'm sick of it… You screwed up, Mom. So did I, that's no question, but my mistake gave me two blessings. My baby, and the realization that I don't want you in my life. I don't feel like you're my mom anymore. So, yes, I screwed up by kind of putting us in that position, but you, Mom, you just screwed up. Big time. And I'm done dealing with _your _consequences." _

_Then, with a firm nod and the satisfaction of saying that nearly radiating from her, Claire stomped away, leaving her mother sitting there, shocked at Claire's words but unable to do anything about them. _

"Wow, Claire," I said, standing up and pulling her into a hug. "That must have been wicked painful to do."

She shook her head into my shoulder, and we pulled away from each other. "Not really, actually. My mom has been like that all my life. I was just so sick of it, and used to it, that telling her what I thought about all her bullshit was easy." I nodded slowly. "You know… I've been thinking, and this is kind of off topic, but I've been thinking about what you said about Jacob earlier."

"What do you mean?"

Claire shifted on her feet. "What you said about him and Kayleigh, and about them going to prom together." I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath. "Just listen to me for a second, please." With a nod, I opened my eyes and looked at her. "Maybe you need to give him a little break, you know? The two of you… There's a lot of tension and I can tell. You guys just need to be civil with each other, try to be friends like you agreed to be. Then maybe you'll get along. Just, give him a chance to be normal around you. You just down his throat too quickly. And all the time too. Try to relax and be calm with each other. You'll both get along then, maybe. It'll be better."

I was about to speak but then Rosalie appeared in my doorway, now wearing high heels that were made out a denim looking fabric. "Are we ready to go, ladies?" she said, each hand on the either side of the door frame. Claire nodded, squeezing my hand once, subtly, before the two of us followed my aunt down the stairs and to the living room.

Alice and Annie were sitting on the couch, sandwiched between Emmett, Jasper and Seth, watching the of _America's Next Top Model _that they missed a few weeks ago, the boys watching intently as the girls got makeovers. When the three of us landed on the floor, they instantly switched the channel to WWE wrestling, acting as if they weren't just watching Alice's favorite show.

"Whoa! Hey!" Annie shouted, snatching the remote away from Emmett. "We were watching that!" Emmett grabbed the remote back, turning it into a war of 'Who gets the remote' the two of them fighting over Alice and Jasper, who were sitting there with both annoyed and bored looks on their faces. After a moment, Jasper just snatched the remote away from both of them and turned the TV off. "Jasper!" Annie said, looking at him with an appalled look on her face. "What about _Top Model_?"

My uncle grinned. "You ladies should be going. The mall's going to start to get crowded."

Rosalie nodded. "Yes, that's right, thank you Jazz. Come on, now, ladies…" she said dramatically. "The mall… Awaits…"  
~*~

"I don't see why I have to come," Jacob said in a stubborn voice, crossing him arms over his chest like an angry five year old. "I'm not getting a prom dress. You guys are."

Rosalie rolled her eyes from behind her sunglasses. "Jacob, you need a suit," she said in a logical voice, looking both ways before tearing across the intersection and toward the mall at 150 miles an hour. "The one you have, though sufficient enough for a regular school dance, is not at all good enough for prom. I mean, come on, let's be reasonable here. You need more style than just a plain, old suit that your cousin used to wear."

Jacob 'hmph'ed and I stifled a laugh front seat, feeling him kick the chair roughly. I rolled my eyes, scoffing loudly. I felt a kick again. Spinning around, I glared at him. "Do not make me hit you," I said threateningly, pointing my finger at him. With a smirk on his face, he kicked the seat harder. "I'm serious, Jake, if you don't stop now, I will punch you." He kicked again. "Jacob! Stop it now!"

"Ooh," Jacob said in a mocking tone. "I like a woman in charge." I narrowed my eyes at him, and just for effect, I stuck out my tongue.

He kicked the seat a third time, making my head jostle around. With a slight growl, I reached around the chair and shot a punch into his left bicep. He jerked his arm up, like he was going to hit me back, but I stopped him by grabbing his fist before flicking him in the forehead. I yelped when he yanked on my hair and I was about to slap him before Rosalie slammed on the breaks in the middle of the road.

"Is there a problem children, or do I need to leave you here so you can work out your troubles on the side of the road while the rest of us go to the mall." Instantly, Jacob and I sat down in our seats, facing forward with our hands in out laps as if nothing had happened. "God, Annie must think I'm insane," Rosalie said nonchalantly, casually checking both ways before speeding across the intersection towards the mall.

I smiled when I remembered that Annie, Claire, Quil and Seth were in Carlisle's Mercedes while me, Rosalie, Mom, Alice and Jacob were crammed into the BMW. We were driving for ten seconds, maybe, before Rosalie's phone started blaring out _Raise Your Glass _by P!nk, Annie's name flashing on the screen.

"Hello?" she said, driving with one hand while holding the phone to her ear. I could hear Annie talking for a moment before Rosalie snorted. "Oh, God, the children were smacking each other. I just told them they'd have to get out of the car if they didn't stop." Annie laughed. "Oh, yeah. It's a real party…" There was something else said, but then we pulled into the bottom floor of the parking garage at the mall, the Mercedes parking right next to us.

"What did you say?" Rosalie said, climbing out of the car and linking her arm around Annie's. "I heard something about Ralph Lauren, but then I hung up the phone…"

Annie laughed, her blonde hair dancing around her face as she hugged Rosalie's arm slightly. "We need to get some shoes from the Ralph Lauren they have here. I saw a pair of gold ones about a week ago, and they were perfect for the color scheme you wanted. Gold and green, right?"

Rosalie nodded. "Definitely." I rolled my eyes, taking hands with Claire, then wrapping my hand softly around Seth's bicep, since he was left alone when Rosalie and Annie instantly connected to each other's hips when they got out of the car. "But, first, dresses. We can go into, like, Silver or something. I know they have some designer dresses there, and I was on their website. I found this gorgeous dress and I want to see if it's in the store. Plus, Nessie," she called over her shoulder, "I'm pretty sure they have some really cut navy dresses that you could find. You said you wanted that color right?"

Claire, Seth and I skipped up to them so I could talk to Rosalie. "Yes, I did indeed."

"Good. We'll start at Silver first then. Let's go!"  
~*~

When Rosalie emerged from the dressing room in Silver, we all broke out into applause. The dress she had on was emerald green, with a fairly low cleavage line, a tight top, than a skirt that trumpeted out in a billow of green fabric.

"That's gorgeous!" Mom and Alice said at the same time, holding hands with Rosalie adoringly.

She looked in the mirror. "You think?"

They rolled their eyes. "Of course!" Mom said as if shocked she would question it. "Rosalie, this is your dress." My aunt smiled, running her hands over the front of it slowly, smoothing out a fabric. "Beautiful."

We were all silent for a while, Jacob, Seth and Quil leaning against the wall, bored looks on their faces, as we had already fitted tuxes for them and their job was done. They were all talking silently with each other, one of them breaking away every couple of minutes to text someone at home.

"Can we leave?" Seth said suddenly, looking up tiredly from his phone.

Alice turned to him, planting her hands on her hips. The boys got hopeful looks on their faces, but then she arched her eyebrow. "No, you cannot leave." They all slumped back against the wall. "_But, _what you can do is go with Bella and Annie down to the florist on Melrose and make some corsages for your dates… Maybe?"

With a salute, Seth grabbed Mom and Annie's arms while Quil kissed Claire's cheek, then the four of them bolted, while Jacob stayed behind, leaning casually against the wall. We stared at each other for a moment, some unspoken dialogue being passed between us. I could tell he was pissed off that I was trying on prom dresses that would be for a date that wasn't him, but he knew that I wasn't too keen on the idea that he was going with Kayleigh.

"Nessie, don't you have some dresses that you collected to try on?" Alice said, taking a short pink dress and retreating to another changing stall.

With a nod, I picked up the six dresses I'd grabbed and went into where Rosalie had changed. Kicking off my flats, I slipped off my shirt and jeans, stepping into a short dress that had embroidered beads near the chest and small pockets that were hidden. Zipping it up, I looked in the mirror for a moment, contemplating how it looked.

"Hey, Ness? How's it going in there?" Annie said, knocking on the door. I opened the door, spinning around and showing off the dress. "Ooh, sexy," she said, planting her hands on her hips. "A definite possibility."

Jacob snorted. "I don't think so."

"Excuse me," I said, turning toward him with my eyebrows raised. "I'm not going with you, am I? No. And besides, you're not my father, thus you can't tell me what dresses I can and cannot wear."

"Well, I may not be your father, but having to deal with him for quite a few years as presented me with the knowledge of what he will and will not approve of, so… No, not that dress." My eyes narrowed at him, but he shrugged. "Hey, it's true, Nessie, you know it is."

"That's ridiculous, Jacob. My dad will understand that for prom, I'm going to get a little eccentric."

Jacob shook his head. "I don't think so. He'll flip a shit. Trust me." I shook my head. "You don't trust me."

"Never have, never will."

Jacob let his head hang. "Then trust me, Nessie," Claire said, going to stand next to Jacob. "I know your dad, too, kind of. Jacob does more than me, so I definitely know that Jacob can tell what you dad will approve of."

With a sigh, I stomped back into the changing stall, slipping out of the dress and putting on another one that was like Rosalie's, except strapless and the skirt had ruffles in it. Walking back out, Jacob shook his head. "Nope." I made a face as he began to explain. "The top is too tight. Forgive me for pointing it out, but it shoves your chest up too much. It looks like your boobs are crawling up and trying to eat your face."

Changing into the next dress, I was hoping it would go through Jacob's detector. I loved the skirt, which was a princess cut that had a bunch of rhinestones and a top that glittered in the light. It was gorgeous, but got a no anyway. "Cleavage is too much, the back is too low, and the torso is too tight. It's like a second skin or something."

"But, Jacob, this one is gorgeous," I said, pulling up the top slightly in attempt to cover my boobs a little bit more. I could see Claire staring at it longingly, her eyes full of adoration. "It's perfect."

"No way, Nessie. It's a no." I ran my tongue over the front of my teeth, annoyed, but went to change into the next dress.

Unsurprisingly, the next one got a decline too. "The corset top makes you look like you have a uni-boob."

"What the hell is a uni-boob?" Claire said, stroking a hand over her red empire waist dress.

"Two boobs that have become one due to enormous pressure from heinous prom dresses." I glared at Jacob, letting out a frustrated sigh as my hands clenched together. "Next," he said casually, putting all his weight on one foot as he crossed is legs at the ankles.

"Jacob, that's rude!" I said angrily, getting more and more frustrated with him.

He shrugged. "But, it's true."

Rosalie looked over at us, a tired look on her face. "Come on, guys, try to get along. It's fine in the car, but we're in a store. Keep it mature."

I retreated back into the changing room. The second to last dress was an empire waist, that had a slightly flowing skirt and a think rhinestone band that went under the bust. I was shocked when Jacob shook his head right as I walked out of the stall. "No way."

"What's wrong with this one!" I said, turning to look in the mirror as I ran my hands over the dress.

He shrugged. "Nothing really… I just don't like it."

That sent me over the edge. "Jacob, enough. This is _my _prom dress, and it's _my _choice, and no one, not even you know apparently knows everything that my dad thinks, can decide of a dress for me," I said, pointing a finger in his face. "God, you're so freaking annoying."

Jacob pushed himself off the wall by his shoulder blades. "Hey, listen Nessie, I'm just trying to help you out here," he said in a slightly dark voice, walking toward me slowly. "You dad will chew your ass off if you get the wrong dress, and I know what will save you from that."

I stood up on my toes and pushed out my chest, trying to gain as much height as possible as I pushed his chest lightly. "I don't care, Jake. All this is my choice, and you're only doing this because I'm not going with you, and I'm not with you anymore, and that pisses you off because you always get what you want. But you can't have this, can you? No. So get over yourself, you self-centered ass."

"Don't. Call. Me. An. Ass," he said his voice suddenly turning acid as his eyes grew dark. "You're stuck in your own world, Nessie. I'm not the one who needs to get over myself, you are. You're shallow and petty and you only think about yourself!"

Jacob's voice was sharp and his fists were shaking as he towered over me. I flinched away from him, but then saw him shaking like crazy and I stood up straight, remembering what Claire had said. "Jacob, calm down. You'll get out of control," I said in a calm voice, looking at him with a relaxed face. "Just breathe. I didn't mean what I said, I was just frustrated. I want to have a nice dress, and you're making it difficult. I just, I want to look good for prom and for… And for Kyle."

He threw his hands up in the air. "Oh, for Christ's sake, Nessie, give me a break. It's Kyle, not a god or something. It's just prom, I mean, come on!"

"Calm… Calm down," I said in a slow voice, reaching out to him, trying to make him relax, only to have him wrench away. "Jake, you need to calm down. You're getting really angry and you're going to phase right in the middle of the store."

"No, he's not," Rosalie said casually, as if she hadn't been paying attention to the argument. When I looked over at her, I could tell she wasn't. She was still looking in the mirror at her dress, checking it from all angles.

My brow furrowed. "What do you mean?" I asked, turning my whole body to her.

"Jacob hasn't phased in weeks," she said as she tightened her ponytail. I looked between them, an upset and shocked look on my face and Jacob let his head fall against the wall as if in defeat and one of his fists pounded against it roughly. "He said there wasn't any point to it anymore, now that you two weren't together. He doesn't see the reason."

My jaw dropped and Claire put her hand on Jacob's shoulder, resting her head on his back. "Jake, why… Why would you do that?" I said, exasperated as I began to panic slightly. "That's not- You can't- That shouldn't be- Jake!"

He looked up and glared at Rosalie. "It's not true," he said through gritted teeth as Claire pulled him into a hug.

"Yes, it is," Rosalie shot back, turning to face him. "It's not a bad thing, Jacob, I'm just telling her what you told me."

Jacob began shaking again and Claire held his head in her hands, looking at him with a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Alright, Uncle Jay, you need some fro yo. With crumbled Oreos." She nodded once, as if she'd make a conclusion. "Yep. Oreo cookie fro yo. Come with me."

Then she dragged him out of the changing room and I leaned against the door of the changing room, hugging my sides as I fell to the floor. I could feel my eyes start to burn as tears welled up in my eyes and a lump rose up in my throat. It became heard to breathe. Jacob wasn't phasing. At all. Because of me. I'd broken up with him nearly two months ago, and if it ended two months ago, and if he hasn't been phasing since we broke up, that that means, no phasing for two months. I talked to Sam once when I was younger and he said that if a werewolf didn't phase for a few months, then you couldn't phase at all.

Was I causing Jacob to become… Human?


	16. Chapter 33&34

Chapter Thirty-Three: Running Slowly

I sat on the floor of the dressing room, my knees pulled up to my chest and my arms wrapped around my legs. I had my chin resting on my knees as I stared at the white door to the changing stall, my jaw clenched so tightly you would need a crowbar to separate them.

Rosalie was standing not far from me, her fingers pressed to her cheeks as she looked at me with a worried expression on her face. "Are... Are you alright, honey?" she asked quietly, kneeling down next to me. The skirt to her prom dress, which she was still wearing, billowed out around her like a big green bubble.

"Yeah, I'm alright," I said, moving so it was my forehead resting on my knees instead of my chin when she placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Are you sure?" I nodded my head slowly and I heard her sigh, shifting so she was sitting on the floor next to me. "Renesmee, I may not have Jasper's powers, but I can tell when someone isn't alright... Talk to me."

I was silent. I didn't want to talk, or rather, I couldn't. My chest was tight and I couldn't breathe, a lump rising in my throat which made it impossible to swallow. "I... I just-" Without warning, I burst into tears, burying my face in my hands in an attempt to hide my sadness. I could feel Rosalie's arms slip around me and she held me tightly, her hand stroking my hair softly.

"Shh, it's alright," she said in a soothing voice, her cool fingers moving from my hair to my cheek, wiping away the tears that were falling there. "Everything's okay, it's alright."

I shook my head into her shoulder. "No, it's not," I said, my voice scratchy and rough. "He's... Jacob's... He's not phasing. Do you see what he's doing to himself?" She ran her thumb across my cheek again, removing the fresh tears there. "He's not phasing... You know the story about werewolves, don't you?" She nodded. "If he doesn't phase now, he won't be able to phase at all."

"I know, baby, I know," she said, rocking me back and forth slightly. "I know."

Sitting up, I looked at her with red eyes, my face a concerning shade of pink from my crying. "I know you know. You knew that he wasn't phasing and you didn't tell anyone," I snapped, pushing my loose hair away from my face as I stared at her. "How could you keep a secret like that from the whole family, especially me?" I stood up and started to take my dress off before I even got in to my changing stall. "A werewolf is what Jacob is, and he'll lose himself if he isn't a wolf. I may not want to be with him, but I don't want to lose him either. Neither does anyone else."

"No, Renesmee, listen to me," Rosalie said, knocking on the door quickly. I slipped my shirt over my head and shoved my flats onto my feet. "Jacob just-"

"No, you listen to me, Rosalie. Jacob can't do that. If he's not a werewolf, he's not anything. He'll be different." I yanked the door open and stared at her as I put my hair up into a ponytail. "And if he's different, then we lose him, and if I lose him, then I'll lose everything. He's been there my whole life. He's my best friend. I can't stand to lose him anymore than I can stand to lose you, or Emmett, or Mom, or Daddy."

Rosalie stepped toward me, her hand held out. "Renesmee, listen to me, sweetie."

"No, not anymore. Not now."

Then I ran from the dressing room, dodging clothing racks and running through the crowded aisles. I could hear Rosalie running after me, calling my name and trying to get me to stop. As I exited the store, I pushed my legs faster when she was stopped from leaving, since she was still wearing the emerald green prom dress. As I burst through the doors we had entered from, I sucked in a rough breath of air. The cold wind burned my face and I looked across the lot, spotting Rosalie's B.M.W. I jogged over to it, cursing to myself when I realized I didn't have her keys.

With a grunt of frustration, I slammed my hands down on the hood of the car, the metal making a hollow 'thud.' When I removed my hands, there wasn't a dent, and I slightly wished there was. I would have gotten in big trouble, but it would have given me some satisfaction. Leaning against her car, I crossed my arms over my chest and let my head hand back as I tried to control the tears running down my face.

_A deep breath in, a deep breath out, _I thought to myself. _Deep breath in, deep breath_-

"Nessie!"

My head snapped up and I saw Rosalie advancing toward me quickly. I didn't have time to think. Shoving myself off the car, I dashed from the parking spot, down the stairs of the garage and away from Rosalie as fast as I could. The only place I send was home. I didn't know whether or not Rosalie was following me, but I didn't want to take time to check and see if she was.

I just ran, through the forest and right beside the main road—still hidden of course—before finding myself running up our twisted driveway. There was ice on the ground, but I managed to not slip on it as I headed up to the house.

Bursting through the door, I kicked off my shoes before leaning against the wall and catching my breath. "Renesmee, is that you?" someone called and I let my head back once against the wall's wooden panels. "Nessie, sweetie?" Esme came around the corner, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Why are you home and the others aren't?"

I looked at her, my eyes rimming in tears and I started gasping for breath again. "Honey, are you alright?" I shook my head and she instantly pulled me into a hug. Sobbing into her shoulder, I held onto her tightly as she stroked my hair soothingly. "What's the matter, darling? Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head and pulled away from her, wiping the backs of my hand under my eyes.

"No? Alright." She stroked my cheek quickly, giving me a sympathetic look. "Well, why don't you go into the living room and watch TV with your uncles and I'll fix you up some soup, hm? How about that?" I nodded slowly, wiping my eyes again before she sauntered off to the kitchen. "I'll have it ready in a few minutes," she called over her shoulder.

I nodded to no one, maybe to myself, then walked up the second set of stairs that lead to the hallway outside of Claire's room. Rounding the corner, I passed the main stairs and turned down the hallway that lead to my room. I changed out of my clothes and into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. I put on some slipper socks then went back down stairs, entering the TV room.

Jasper and Emmett turned in their seats, surprised looks on their faces. "Weren't you at the mall?" Emmett said, running a hand through his hair. I nodded slowly. "Then, why are you-"

He didn't finish before Jasper whacked him in the chest and shook his head. I sniffed then Jasper patted the spot between him and Emmett, giving me a warm smile. I sauntered over to them, settling myself in the middle before leaning against Emmett and kicking my legs onto Jasper's lap. He instantly started rubbing my feet, making them feel so much better after I had run so long in my new, barely worn flats. Emmett played with my hair as they let me surf through the channels. They had been watching a basket ball game, but said nothing when I switched it, finally settling on a _Lifetime _movie, Keith. It was a fairly low key movie, and after a while, with Emmett soothingly stroking my hair and Jasper relaxingly rubbing my feet, I found myself falling asleep.  
~*~

"Nessie, wake up," Emmett said quietly, gently shaking my shoulder.

I opened my eyes and saw Emmett's head looming over mine, but he had a kind smile on his face. Jasper was still rubbing my feet and I had shifted so I was lying on my back, my head on Emmett's lap with a pillow between.

"Esme brought you some soup," Jasper said, nodding to the tray sitting on the coffee table, a steaming bowl of onion soup on top.

Sitting up, I kept my legs on Jasper's lap as I brought the tray to rest on my thighs. Slowly, I dipped mt spoon into the bowl and blew on the steaming soup lightly before sitting at it gingerly. It burned on my tongue, but in a good way, seeming to make a wave of warmth wash through my body. I almost didn't want to swallow the broth, afraid that the next spoonful wouldn't be as savory, but after a moment, I gave in and spooned some more into my mouth.

Emmett and Jasper were sitting there quietly, not speaking but only looking at me.

"Yes?" I said after a while, dipping a piece of French bread into the broth.

Jasper's eyes flicked from me to Emmett, then back to me. "You know that we worry about you, right?" I nodded slowly, scooping up some on the onions then cooling them off. "So, naturally, as uncles who worry, we just wanted to ask-"

"What happened to you?" Emmett said blatantly, twirling some my hair around his finger.

Jasper sighed frustratingly. "Way to go, Em."

"What?" he said clueless. "You were beating around the bush."

"The bush needs to be beaten around. I was trying to go about it gently."

"She's not made of glass, Jazz. You don't have to be gentle with her. "

"But, you don't have to be so obvious with it either. What if it's a touchy subject?"

"Then you apologize after."

"You're a moron."

"Oh, yeah? Well... Well... You suck, Jasper. Huh, how 'bout that? How does it feel?"

"Ass."

"Bitch."

"Shithead."

"Douche."

"Guys!" I said loudly, interrupting their spat. "Wanna continue this later?"

They both nodded. "So, do you wanna talk to us? Maybe tell us what happened?"

I looked at my uncle for a moment, chewing slowly on an onion slice. "Something happened at the dress store with Jake," I said after a while, pulling apart little pieces of bread. The two of them looked at me, waiting for more. "I was trying on dresses and Jacob kept commenting on them, claiming that he knew Dad's standards, and so he would he able to tell me which dress I could and cuold not get."

"He kind of has a point."

I nodded. "Oh, yeah, I know that. But, after a while, I was getting really annoyed because he was saying no to dresses that were really pretty and weren't at all bad, and I just wanted him to stop. He said no to dresses that were amazing and were ones that I knew Daddy wouldn't have a problem with. So, after a while, I just told him to stop and we kind of started yelling at each other. Then, I remember that Claire had told me to hold my patience with him and to cut him some slack, maybe be a little but more understanding. So, I tried to calm him down because he was getting overly angry. I told him to take a deep breath and try to relax before he phased."

"Reasonable," Jasper said, pressing his thumbs into the balls of my foot.

"Yeah. But then, Rosalie said that there was a slim chance that he would phase because he hadn't phased at all since we broke up."

My two uncles froze. "He hasn't phased at all since you two broke up?" they said together, looking at me with shocked looks. I nodded slowly. "But, that's, like two months," Emmett said slowly.

"I know." I looked down at my bowl of soup, suddenly not hungry anymore. "And it really worried me. I remember talking to Sam a while ago, when I was younger. He told me all about werewolves and how they worked. He said that if a werewolf didn't phase for a few months, then he wouldn't be able to phase ever again... I was really scared that I was turning Jacob human. I mean, what if I already did. Rosalie said that he hadn't been phasing because the two of us weren't together anymore, so there was really no reason for him to..."

"Hang on, Rosalie knew about this? And she didn't tell me?" Emmett said in a loud voice. I nodded once. "Ugh, that bitch," he said in a dramatic voice. "Oh, I can't believe she wouldn't tell me. If she had, I could have beaten him into phasing."

I laughed once, but then my smile faded. "She said he told her not to tell anyone, to keep it a secret."

"But, how did Rose know?" Jasper said, looking at me with an arched eyebrow.

"I don't know, but she did. The two of them have been becoming strangely close or whatever, so..."

Emmett and Jasper nodded slowly. "Do you think this is because of you...?" Jasper said after a while, running a hand through his hair while the other hand continued to rub my foot.

I nodded. "I know it's because of me. Rosalie said that Jacob said there was to point to it now, since the two of us weren't together... I don't want him to do this, but I can't be with him either, and I just don't know what to do..." My two uncles looked at me. "I don't know what to do..."

When I finished my soup, I put it down on the coffee table, hugged my uncles, then went upstairs, not really in the mood anymore to be comforted. I passed by Annie's room, the one she had literally taken over. About two weeks ago, Emmett suddenly pointed out that she was sleeping here every night, she ate our food and walked into the house whenever she wanted. She claimed she just felt very welcome. Then Carlisle proposed that she just take the empty room upstairs, and then we had a new house guest, full time.

No one ever went in Annie's room though, except for Claire, and no one knew what went on inside. Since she wasn't home, I decided to take a little peek inside.

There was a bed pushed up against the wall and a dresser opposite it. That was pretty much it for furniture. Everything else in there were cans upon cans of paint. And an easel on the corner with a small table next to it. There was a canvas on the easel, and I stepped closer to it and saw a blonde woman with blue and brown streaks in her hair. She was wearing a red dress and had her arms around the neck of a man. Like her, he had blue streaks in his hair, but his was long and shaggy. You couldn't see there faces. They were kissing. It took me a really long time, but after a while, I began to notice that it was Rosalie and Emmett.

In the painting were my god parents. And it was Annie's painting.

"Oh, my God," I said, taking a step forward even closer. "This is amazing." I was speaking to no one, but I felt that the words had to be said out loud for affect. "Wow," I breathed, amazed and awed and impressed all at the same time.

For the next twenty minutes, I just stared at the painting, standing there like a loon with my hands planted on my hips. Annie was an artist, and she never told me. But that didn't matter. Because she had a gift from God. And an awesome one at that.

"What are you doing?" I jumped, knocking over a few cans of paint, as well as the little table with the artist pallet on it.

"Oh, shit," I said, looking around frantically. I saw Annie standing in the door, holding a big plastic bag that was over a hanger. I'm guessing her dress was on it. "Shoot, Ans, I'm sorry." She arched her eyebrow at me. "I was just, um, curious and wanted to see... I'm sorry I spilled your paints."

After a moment, she smiled, walking into the room and putting the dress down on the bed. "Don't worry about it, Ness. It's just paint, and it's not even my good paint, so it's not a big deal." Walking over to the place where the paint was slowly creeping over the hard wood floor, moping up with different colors with a towel. I just stood there helplessly, a dumb look on my face. When she finished, she tossed the towel into the laundry basket and planted her hands on her hips. "So, what are you doing in here?"

I shrugged. "I was just curious. No one ever comes in here, and you're always wicked quiet. I just wanted to see... And I saw, so now I'll go."

"No, wait," she said as I headed toward the door. "Do you want to see some of the other paintings?" I shook my head, pretending to yawn as I gave her a sleepy look. "Alright, well, anytime you want to see, let me know."

I nodded, then left, hoping to God that no one else stopped me. After what happened today, I didn't want to talk to anyone anymore. I wanted to be alone to collect my thoughts, and to see if there was anyway I could get Jacob to start phasing again, because I couldn't lose him. I just couldn't. Down stairs, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper were in the living room, the two boys arguing against her that she should have said something about Jacob. She was fighting back, saying it was none of her business and that if he really wanted people to know, he would have said something. I scoffed quietly, turning to the right and going to my bedroom, screaming when I saw Jacob standing in the middle of the room.

"What are you doing in here?" I said, my hand on my chest as I tried t calm myself. He shrugged. "Well, then can you please lea-"

He held up his hand. "Let me talk, okay? Don't interrupt, and wait until I'm done speaking to say what you have to say." I nodded slowly, sitting down on my bed as he began pacing back and forth. "Okay, I have a few things to say... One; we need to work something out. The two of us... We obviously argue a lot, and we shouldn't be. We shouldn't even be broken up."

"Whoa, hey-"

"I said no talking," he snapped

I sighed. "But-"

"No, Nessie. Let me speak, okay? I don't want to hear what you have to say, I just want to say what I need to say, okay?" With another sigh, I gave up and sat back, ready to listen to what he had to say. "Anyway... We shouldn't have broken up. That was my fault. I screwed up, Nessie, and I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I knew that you weren't really doing anything with Kyle then. I just wanted you to be mine. I didn't want any other guy getting what I could have. Now, one guy has everything I could have had, all because I made a stupid mistake, and that was all my fault. You didn't do anything wrong, and I knew that, I just... I don't know. I'm protective. So, we need to work something out. We're fighting all the time. I don't even know what it's about really. It just, happens. One of us snapped at the other, then that just evolves into something else.

"Two, I just want to tell you that I love you, but you have a really bad attitude. Like, honestly, Nessie, it's like you're PMSing _all the time._ You are literally the most angsty teenager I have ever met. You're worse than your mom, and she was _bad._" My eyes widened, but my cheeks felt hot. "Like, every other second, you're either yelling at me, your dad, or someone else. You've even gotten into a little spat with Claire and she's the nicest person since, like, Jesus." I cracked my fingers, frustrated, looking own at my hands guiltily. "It's a problem, and everyone in the family is talking about it, it's just that no one's had the balls to actually tell you that, Renesmee, you're acting like a bitch." My jaw dropped and I looked at him with an appalled look on my face. I didn't know why I was acting so shocked, though, because I knew exactly what he was talking about. "Don't even pretend that you've been acting like an angel. You stay away from pretty much the whole family, and when they to talk to you, you treat them like crap. And I'm not afraid to tell you this because telling you is better than not.

"Three, I wanted to say that I'm sorry about what happened today in the mall. I shouldn't have acted the way I did toward you, and it was unfair... So..." I raised my eyebrows at him. "So, I got you a dress."

I gasped, sitting up straight with my eyes excited. "You did?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's in your closet." I jumped from the bed and scrambled into the other room, seeing a babydoll dress hanging on the very first rack. It was plain, with no decorations on it but it was silky and smooth, seeming to have a slight glimmer from the fabric. It was perfect. "Claire and I were walking back into Sliver or Shimmer or whatever that store is called, and we were looking around for you and Rose. While we were doing that, this dress caught my eye, and I just thought, well... It's perfect."

I turned around and faced him. "Jacob, that's possibly the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me," I said, giving him a soft smile. "Thank you so much." He shrugged as if it were no big deal. Stepping toward him, I wrapped my arms around his torso, hugging him tightly. "And I'm sorry about everything... In general. I know that I've been acting really badly, and I'm glad you told me. We need to work something out, but that can go slowly. If we just go as friends, then that would be more than perfect to me. I don't want to lose you..." He froze slightly. "Jacob... I want you to start phasing again."

He pulled away from me. "Nessie, I'm not going to argue that I don't want to phase anymore, but there really is no point now."

I stared at him. "Being a werewolf is who you are. It's your life, and if you're not a werewolf, then what are you? You'll lose yourself if you're not." He started to say something, but I stopped him. "Just do this one thing. I'll never act like a snob again, if you start phasing again... Please do this." He began to shake his head. "For me, Jacob. Do this for me."

The two of us were quiet for a while, just staring at each other and I chewed on my lip nervously. Then, with a sigh, he stuck out his arm, and the two of us shook hands, striking the deal.  
~*~

Chapter Thirty-Four: When He Goes Away...

Sitting on my bed, I stared at my prom dress that was hanging on the back of my bedroom door so I could look at it. I was trying to contemplate how it was that Jacob had known that this dress was _the _dress, especially when I wasn't even there to say so. I hadn't tried it on yet, but I didn't really want to. Although it was a really stupid idea, I didn't want to put it on until prom night.

"But, how are you going to know whether or not it fits?" Dad said, the door suddenly opening with him standing there. He was leaning against the door jamb, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face. "There will be no way to tell."

I thought for a moment. "I'll make Mommy try it on. We're the same size." He nodded. "And I really, really don't want to put the dress on."

Dad laughed. "Then have your mother try it, like you said." I smiled, biting my lip. "Did Jacob tell you that he got it for me?" I said in a slightly shocked voice, my eyes getting wider.

"Well, Jacob didn't tell me... Claire told Rosalie, Rosalie told Emmett, Emmett brought it up during hunting."

My stomach suddenly growled. I realized then that I hadn't actually hunted for months. All the blood that I was drinking was in the water bottles because I took them to school. My hand flew to land over my belly button and I looked at Dad with a laugh. "I think, uh, I'm a little over due..."

He chuckled. "I think so too... Why don't you go with Alice and Jasper. They're just about to leave."

With a nod, I hopped off my bed and scampered down the hall, down the stairs and to the mud room. Alice and Jasper were standing there, him leaning against the wall while she was standing straight and as tall as she could be.

"I saw that you were coming with us earlier, so we decided to wait." I nodded slowly, slipping my feet into a pair of black Converse. I didn't know who they belonged to, but they fit and I had a feeling that the girls in the family wouldn't mind sharing. But that was just a hunch. When I stood up, Alice smiled happily. "Ready to go?"

Before I could even answer, she was out the door and Jasper was standing there, shaking his head and smiling. I laughed once and then he held his hand out to me. Looking at it for a moment, I slipped my small hand into his, cool of his touch washing through me. At least, I thought it was the cold, but maybe it was a wave of happiness that he was sending my way. He held my hand tightly, giving me a crooked smile before the two of us walked out the door, shutting it behind us.

Right when we hit the pavement of the driveway, we took off towards the woods, running as fast as we could, still holding hands. "It's been a while since you hunted, Nessie... Think you've still got it?" he said in a teasing voice.

I smirked, laughing once loudly. "Please, Jasper. I'm a Cullen. I was born for this. And besides, I haven't lost the touch I've had since I was born. It's a skill," I said boastfully. "Let's just see if you can keep up!"

Suddenly, I broke away, veering off to the right, cutting him off. I could hear twigs snapping and I whipped my head in the direction the sound was coming from, spotting movement in the trees. Taking a deep breath in, I found what I was looking for—deer. Pushing my legs faster, I chased after the animal, making a game of it. I would go fast... Then slow... Then I wouldn't move at all. The deer wold stop and then I would suddenly appear in front of it and it would start off in another direction.

"Can't get your target, now, can you!" Jasper shouted out, and I spotted him up in a tree, crouching on a branch as he watched the wild chase.

With a grin, I jumped into the air, landing gracefully on a branch below him. The deer stopped directly below me and I looked up at him with a smirk. Bringing my finger to my lips, I told him to be silent as I looked back down at the deer. In the blink of an eye, I fell off the branch, and right onto the deer. There was a crack then the sound of the animal falling to the ground and when I looked down, it was lying there, still and silent. Standing over my prey, I looked up triumphantly at Jasper.

"Ha," I said in a boastful voice. "I've still got it."

~*~  
As Jasper, Alice and I walked back to the house, things were silent and they weren't speaking just walking slowly, holding hands and looking at each other lovingly. Every so often, Jasper would reach up and tap her nose or lean down to kiss her forehead, or pull her closer her to him. Alice would smile back and respond, maybe flicking her head up to move the kiss from her forehead to her lips, or turn her face to move his hand to her cheek.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Alice's pace slowed, and she got a wide eyed look.  
"Is she alright?" I asked, walking closely to my aunt.

Jasper laughed once. "Of course. Just a vision, that's all." I gave him a nod and then, when her eyes closed and she leaned against Jasper, I gave them both an expectant look. "What did you see?"

Alice shook her head. "It's not important... Just a stupid vision."

Jasper raised an eyebrow at her and she bit her lip, standing up on her toes. As quietly as humanly possible, Alice whispered something into Jasper's ear, something I couldn't understand. When she pulled away, Jasper gave her a shocked look, his mouth open slightly.

"Are you sure?" She nodded. "And there's no way you can be mistaken."

"Am I ever wrong?"

Jasper shook his head, answering her question and then the two of them looked to me, apologetic looks on their faces. "What?" I asked, looking at them with a confused look. They just stared at me for a moment, then continued on walking, now stiff and dour. "Hello? What's going on? Anything I should know about? Or maybe you just want to tell me because you looked at me like someone died..."

Alice and Jasper stopped, turning to face me. They stood there for a moment, then Alice scampered forward, wrapping her arms around my middle. After a while, she waved to Jasper and he joined in, wrapping his big arms around the both of us easily.

"Okay, you're both really starting to freak me out... Wanna tell me what you saw?"

My aunt shook her head. "You'll see soon enough. Let's just go home."

~*~  
When we reached the house, I began to understand what Alice and Jasper were talking about. And, I swear, my heart first stopped beating, then it dropped into my stomach, then up into my throat and I thought I was going to puke it up. I felt cold all of a sudden and I couldn't breathe. I don't know if I even _wanted_ to breathe.

What I saw was Jacob, sitting on the couch in the TV room, wearing a pair of nice jeans, a button down shirt and his slightly puffy vest that I secretly liked to steal. He had Converse sneakers on his feet and his hair, thought not combed back or gelled and other nonsense, was actually brushed and messily pushed out of his eyes.

I saw this, and froze. Alice squeezed my hand once before walking away with Jasper upstairs. Jacob looked from the TV and saw me, giving me a slight smile. "Oh, hey, Nessie."

"Don't 'Oh, hey, Nessie' me," I said in a slightly snippy tone, remembering what he had said earlier that day. "Where are you going?"

Jacob looked at the floor for a second, then back to me. "Um, well, Kayleigh and I are going out to get some dinner. Get to know each other more, you know?"

I pulled my dad's too big sweater over my head, letting it drop on the arm of the couch as I sat in the recliner. Far away from him, but not so far as to show I was trying to not sit next to him. "You could have told me or something, don't you think?" I said, picking at the chipping nail polish on my fingers.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I suppose I could have told you-"

"Yeah, you think?" I spat out, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Hey, Nessie, don't get like this with me now, not after we made that agreement." I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly. "Yeah, I know I should have told you. And I'm sorry... But, I'm telling you now. I'm going out with Kayleigh to get to know her more since we're going to prom together." I looked at the toes of my sneakers. "It's not a date, though... We're just going down to Benson's to have some dinner. That's all..."

I rolled my eyes. "Then why are you so dressed up? You're wearing a button down shirt. And you combed your hair." He looked down at his clothes, his face scrunched up as he tried to push away the question I'd just asked. "Alright, look, whatever. You can do what you want, can't you? I shouldn't be able to stop you."

He looked at me. "Really? You're not going to freak out at me and scream and say that I shouldn't be doing this?"

"I'm doing it internally."

Jacob looked at me for a second, then he burst out laughing, slapping his knee a few times and shaking his head. I started to giggle too, but then the doorbell rang and I suddenly grew quiet. The sound of the door opening filed the air and I heard Carlisle's confused voice.

"Oh, um, hello... Can I help you?"

I shot form my seat and ran to the door. Kayleigh was wearing a dress with boots and a jacket over it. I could make out various pieces of jewelry from under the coat, and I couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked."Don't worry, Daddy, I've got this," I said, easily falling into the part of the human family with Carlisle as my father. He furrowed his brow at me. "This is Kayleigh, Jacob's prom date from school."

Suddenly, Carlisle got a look of realization on his face as he realized what was going on and I nodded, giving him an obvious look. "They're just going out to eat... Right?" I said, looking at her.

"Oh, um, yeah, we are. To Benson's... Not really high style or anything but then again, it's not a date." My heart rose slightly when I heard her say what Jacob had and I then knew that he wasn't lying. "Is Jacob here?"

I suddenly realized that I had left her out in the cold. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Come on in. He's in the TV room." I held the door open wider for her and she stepped in. Even with high heels, she was shorter than me and that made me laugh silently, since Jacob was so much taller than _I _was. "Just in here."

She followed me into the TV room and Jacob instantly stood up when she walked in. "Hi," he said with a grin on his face.

Kayleigh looked him over and I could hear her slightly lose her breath. "Hey."

We all stood there awkwardly for a minute, then he shook his head quickly to clear it. "Are you ready to go?" She nodded and he walked toward her. "Then, uh, let's go. We can take my car."

"Okay, cool."

They started to walk out and I grabbed his arm, pulling him down close to me. "Don't do anything stupid," I whispered in his ear, giving him a small glare.

Jacob snorted quietly. "When do I ever?" he whispered back and I gave him a sarcastic look, rolling my eyes. "Okay, I won't, I promise. I'll see you later, bye."

And then he was gone.

~*~  
I sat in Carlisle's office, curled up on the big arm chair in the corner as I read through _Wuthering Heights _for the 237th time in my life. Carlisle was sitting at his desk going through some paper work while humming absentmindedly.

"Carlisle?"

"Yes, love?" he said, vigorously stapling some papers together.

I closed my book. "Do you believe in true love?" He smiled once, putting papers into a pile. "Like, do you think that there is one person for everyone, or there is more than one, it just depends on who you find?"

He stopped for a moment and looked at me. "Now, why would you ask a question like that?"

I blushed slightly and looked down at my book. "Well, because... I always used to think that Jacob and I were meant for each other. And he said that I was the only one for him... But now we have to work just to be able to get along with one another..."

Carlisle nodded slowly, leaning back in his office chair. "Sometimes, when you really, truly love someone, you have to work to get along with them, and sometimes, fighting is what you need. You need to be able to tell them what you really think and feel." I sighed and he sat forward. "But, it's always about being with that person that counts in the end."

I smiled an played with the cover of the book. "That doesn't really answer my question."

"I think it depends on the person," he said, grabbing a few books and moving to the giant bookshelf lining the wall. "For some people, there may only be one person, but for others, it depends on who you come across first." He walked up to me. "But, don't worry," he said, kissing my forehead. "Maybe you've already found your match. You'll find someone."

I watched as he went back to his desk and sat down. "Did you?"

Carlisle looked at me warm face, his fingers linked together with his hands on the desk. "I did." I bit the inside of my lip and waited for more. "Esme is the love of my life. In all the years that I've been alive, I've never met anyone that makes me happier."

"How did you know you found the one?"

"When I saw her lying on that hospital bed, dying before me I swore my heart beat accelerated even though it doesn't beat at all." I smiled slightly. "And I didn't want her to die... Medically, I tried everything I could to save her, but then it became almost impossible."

"So, you turned her into a vampire?"

Carlisle nodded. "Yes, I did."

I twirled my hair around on my finger. "And you would never leave her for someone else?"

"Not as long as I live."

_Not as long as he lived... _


	17. Chapter 35

**Yeah. So, it's back to normal now, sort of. Instead of chapters being so short, I'm just going to be making them longer, and have more things happen, but there won't actually be, like, two labeled chapters in one page. Things will be picking up, I promise. **

**Also, I lied. Prom is in the NEXT chapter. Sorry. I was going over my timeline for the story and realized there is a lot that happens in between. Sorry! **

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Realization of Being a Complete Moron…

At around 11:30, I heard a car door shut and people talking. There was some laughing, from both a boy and a girl, and I snuck over to my window, peeking through the drapes.

Jacob and Kayleigh were standing in the driveway by her car, Jake's Guardian parked not far off. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but after a second, she smiled again and gave him a hug. He kissed her cheek as he pulled away and held her car door open for her, waiting until she was out of the driveway before going inside.

Slowly, I headed back to my bed, pulling the covers over my body. My laptop was on my night stand, and I turned it face it, pressing play on the movie I had been watching before. I could hear more chatter over Kiera Knightly and James McAvoy and I could tell it was Jake and Rosalie. It was light arguing and I could make out a few things that were being said, even though I didn't want to.

"She's probably asleep. Doesn't she, like, always go to bed whenever she can?"

"Just go talk to her… And give her these."

But I didn't want to talk to him. I wanted to curl up in to a ball, watch movies and sleep. And eat. Suddenly, I really wanted ice cream, but I didn't want to get it or have to see Jake.

_Daddy¸ _I thought, hoping that he would hear me. _Daddy, can you please get me some ice cream? I don't want to get up. Please, Daddy. _

There were some footsteps and I prayed that it wasn't Jacob. I didn't want to talk about his date with Kayleigh, or to talk to him in general. I know I was starting to act like a bitch again, which is why I was starting to ignore him, I guess. If I didn't have to see him, I wouldn't have to try and pretend like I was completely okay with that was going on with him and that abnormally small child.

But it was almost as if he knew that because my door creaked open and he stuck his head in. "Hey, you asleep?"

I didn't look at him, but I shifted slightly, letting out a 'Mm', as if I had been and he woke me up.

"Well, you're not now, can I come in?" I let out a sigh but let my arm worm its way from underneath my blankets and wave him in. "Hello," he said, sitting on the edge of my bed, right by my knees. "Rose told me to give these to you."

Pausing the movie, I sat up and faced him, my hair falling in front of me. "Excuse the fact that I look like a mess," I said, taking the box from him. He waved away my statement. "They're probably my prom shoes." I opened the box and nodded as I saw the silver high heels lying on the bottom. "… Thanks for bringing them up, I guess?"

He nodded as I dropped it on the floor, crossing my legs like a first grader as I looked at him. "So, what's up?" he said, running a hand through his hair, which was getting increasingly messier.

I shrugged. "Not much, I suppose… How was your date?"

Jacob let out a frustrated sigh. "It was not a date, Renesmee."

"Nessie," I corrected, running my fingers through my ponytail. "It's Nessie."

He nodded once. "Right, I knew that…" I gave him a small, sarcastic smile. "Yeah, but it wasn't a date. We just went and ate. And talked about, like, stuff."

I roughly flipped my ponytail over my shoulder. "Like what?"

Jacob sat there in silence for a moment. "We just kind of… Talked. I learned a lot about her. She likes sailing and works at the ice cream place by the mall, Scoops." I nodded, thinking back to the time when Kyle, Lyla and I went there to have ice cream; when he told me his parents were dead and that he took care of his little sister, with the help of social services.

"I heard that her mom and dad got divorced… Right?"

Jacob nodded. "Oh, yeah, they. That's why she works, to help with, like, bills and stuff, so… Yeah…"

There was an awkward silence between us, and I pulled at a loose strand of string that was unraveling from my thick goose down comforter. "I feel really bad for her," he said suddenly, taking off his vest and letting it fall onto the floor. I looked at him, tilting my head to the side. "I mean, she literally doesn't have any friends. She's always focusing on school work and actual work and her dad that she doesn't really have any time to hang out with people."

"I've seen her sitting with people at lunch, and talking to people in the hallways before," I said, slightly fighting back as if to make him feel not as bad for her.

Jacob nodded. "Yeah, she socializes with people, sure. Everyone does. But, she doesn't have someone that she, like, talks to on chat or over text or something like that. She doesn't have any friends, like you and Annie and Claire have each other." I chewed on the inside of my lip, looking back down at the comforter, still pulling on the string. My hair fell over my shoulder and brushed against my chest and Jacob shifted slightly. "Hey, where'd you get that necklace?"

I looked down farther, to the chain hanging around my neck. "Oh, uh, Kyle gave it to me. For a late birthday present."

His eyebrows shot to nearly his hairline. "A necklace? Really? You guys have been on, what, _one_ date?" I held the pendant in my hand tightly. "I've seen TV commercials. That's, like, the 'Love's Embrace' necklace, isn't it?"

My cheeks flushed, but not from being embarrassed. It felt like Jacob was crossing a line, but not by accident. Almost as if he was doing it on purpose. "Well, that doesn't really mean anything does it? It's just a necklace."

"Well, you guys aren't even dating. That's a freaking diamond necklace."

"Yeah, we are… We went on a date. And he kissed me. I think we're in a relationship if that happened…"

He rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean you're in a relationship." I gave him a soft look, as if I was going to melt, holding the pendant between my fingers and looking at it fondly. "Oh, God," he said, throwing his hands up in the air slightly. "Give me a break."

I glared at him. "Jacob, why are you making this such a big deal? Aren't you the one who said we should be friends and support each other and such?" He ran a hand through his hair, making it fall in front of his eyes. Scooting forward slightly, I pushed it out of his face, letting my fingers rest by his temple. "Then why can't you be supportive of me, when I'm supportive of you?" He reached up and held my wrist lightly, pressing my palm into his face. "I haven't said anything to you about Kayleigh, have I?" Jake shook his head, turning his cheek into my palm. "So, can't you be supportive of me and Kyle?"

"But… Kayleigh and I aren't dating. I'm just taking her to prom. What's going on between you and Kyle…? What is that, really? I mean, do you love him?"

My fingers closed into a fist around his hair. "Jake…" I said quietly, pulling his hair slightly to make him look at me. "I don't know who I love…"

"Yeah? Because I know who _I _love." My breathing stopped at that statement. I didn't want to hear him talk about this. We'd gone over it so many times. I was finished listening to him. "I love _you_, Nessie. But you don't love me back. And that kills me. I nearly want to die thinking about you with someone else, telling your secrets to someone else, loving someone else, belonging to someone else."

At that moment, my door opened again and my dad came walking in, holding a cereal bowl in his hand. Coming closer, I noticed it was the bowl of ice cream I'd pathetically asked for only a few minutes ago. Dad placed it on my nightstand and kissed my hair, stroking it softly once before walking out, leaving the door open.

Tears filled my burning eyes and spilled over like raindrops on a window. "I _always _belonged to you, Jacob…" I whispered, pressing my forehead against his. "But, you broke my heart, Jacob. And it can't be fixed."

"Everything can be fixed," he said in a sudden harsh tone. "This can be fixed, Nessie. You're _mine._ You are supposed to belong to _me!_"

I let out a small cry when he clenched tightly on my wrist and then Dad came swerving back into my room, his face dark. "I think it's best if you left, Jacob. This is not a suitable conversation for either of you, especially since there's so much tension between the two of you already. It's late. Both of you should get some sleep. You'll have a fresh start tomorrow."

My hand fell from Jacob's face and he let out a sharp breath, thrusting himself up from the bed angrily. "Good _night_, Nessie. I hope you sleep well," he hissed over his shoulder, stalking from the room and outside to his house.

I sat there for a moment, breathing hard and trying not to cry again, but when Mom can running in, I began to sob, my face buried in my hands. I felt her arms around my instantly, and my door closed, signaling that Dad had left. I left my face fall into her shoulder and she stroked my hair, talking soothingly in my ear.

"Don't cry, baby," she whispered, kissing my temple. "You don't need to cry. You're my beautiful girl, you don't need to be crying."

I nodded. "Yes, I do, Mommy," I said pathetically, holding tightly to her shirt, which I was probably ruining with my tears. "I do."

She tsked once. "Why is that, sweetie?" I didn't say anything. "Hmm? Why, baby? Come on, look at me." She hooked her thumb under my chin and made me look up at her. "Why do you need to cry, babydoll?"

I sniffed, tears still streaming down my face. "Because I don't know what to do anymore, Mom," I said, hiccupping as I spoke. "I don't know anymore…"

"What don't you know?"

"I don't know what to do about Jacob and Kyle anymore. It's so confusing. And heartbreaking. I can't do it."

She pushed stray hair out of my eyes. "I think you know… You just don't know you know." My brow creased as I continued hiccupping. "Now… Come on. Talk to me. Tell me about why you broke up with Jacob. And why you got together with Kyle. Maybe you'll be able to figure it out. Just… Tell me the story." I shook my head slowly, my eyes squeezing shut as I lowered my face. "No, come on, don't give me that. Tell me. Take all the time you need, but tell me." I was silent. "You can even have some of your ice cream before it melts."

Reaching for the bowl, I leaned against the wall as Mom handed it to me, plopping herself on my right side as she prepared to listen. "It started back in October," I whispered, stirring the ice cream around to make it softer. "When we had told Annie about us, and the wolves. She had just broken up with Kyle and I thought I would cheer him up a little, since we were kind of becoming friends. We went out and got ice cream and fries, then we talked about all kinds of stuff. Toothpaste, spaghetti, birthdays, people we'd lost, everything.

"And then, when we were saying goodbye, Jacob saw us hugging… I don't know why, but he all of a sudden got really, almost unnaturally, jealous. He started yelling and screaming at me, as if I had just killed someone. He was waving his arms around and looked really pissed off, but I didn't know what to do. I didn't understand anything he was saying. Then… Then he said, 'Exactly, Renesmee, that's it! You'll never understand. You're just a child.'"

Mom nodded slowly, running a hand through her thick, brown hair. "Oh, my," she said silently, chewing on her lip, like I do.

"And… That hurt. A lot. Like, when the one person you love slaps you across the face, then your insides literally freeze and you can't do anything but cry. You know what I mean?"

"I do, actually. I know exactly how you feel, babe," she said sadly, looking down at her hands.

I reached out and touched her arm, shifting what she was thinking about into my mind. I didn't get much, since most of it was choppy because she was forgetting most of it, but I got flashes of Dad walking with her in the forest, kissing her quickly, before leaving her standing there, alone and crying for him to come back. Instantly, I regretted shifting into her mind and I quickly but casually moved my hand away.

"So, come on, keep talking."

A sigh escaped me as I continued. "And I didn't want to be with anyone who called me a child. I mean, would he really call me a child if he loved me?" Mom gave me a sad look. "I don't think he would… And, that just killed me from the inside and out. I never thought he would ever say something like that to me. He always seemed so loving and caring, but that's not how he seemed when he was yelling at me like he was…

"He scared me. It was like he was going to explode into some kind of animal… One that could rip me into shreds in seconds…" After a moment of silence, Mom and I giggled when we realized that Jacob _was _an animal that could rip me to shreds. "But, either way, I just didn't want to look at him. He wasn't the same person to me anymore… He was a stranger. But I still love him, Mom. I've been trying to ignore it, I really have. I haven't even been acknowledging it, even if I feel it in the pit of my stomach, or in the bottom of my toes. I love him so much and I don't want to let him go, but he hurt me so much, and I don't know what to do anymore."

Mom pursed her lips together and nodded understandingly. "Well, sugar, I can't say I can know how that feels, but I definitely understand everything else. You're not the only one, baby." She held my hand tightly, kissing my temple. "Now, tell me about Kyle, and why?"

I was quiet for a long time. "Because… Kyle was everything that Jacob had been. He was such an angel, and when I saw him with his little sister, Lyla, I nearly died at how adorable they were together. He just seemed so… So… Just so much like-"

"Like Jacob," Mom interrupted, biting her lip and raising her eyes at me. I felt my cheeks light up in flames and I nodded slowly, looking down at my lap, which had a melted bowl of ice cream sitting in it. "And what does that tell you, Renesmee? What does that mean to you?" she said in a quiet voice, reaching up to stroke my cheek a few times. "Don't you think it's just a little ironic that the next boy you fell in love with was exactly like Jake?"

I let out a small laugh. "No, I don't."

She smiled. "So, what does it mean, sweetie?"

"It… Doesn't it… I…"

"Don't you think it means that maybe… Maybe you still want to be with Jacob, especially since you still love him?"

I angrily put the melted ice cream on my nightstand, crossing my arms over my chest. "I don't know, Mom! I don't know what it means. Jacob _broke _my heart. He… He's different to me now. And Kyle is everything. But, I still love him. I love his so much, Mommy, but I just don't know what to do…"

She smiled and kissed my temple, wrapping her arms around me to give me a tight hug. "I know you don't know what to do. But, what you should do is follow your heart. Do what you think is best, okay?" I nodded, snuggling into her and closing my eyes.

Mom held me tighter, stroking my hair while she hummed. "Just follow your heart."

~*~  
When I woke up the next morning, I was alone, but the sheets next to me were colder than usual, meaning that Mom had only left a short while ago. The bowl of ice cream was gone, and my door was open, letting light from the hallway shine in on my surprisingly dark room. I looked around, noticing the shades and drapes were drawn, blocking out all sunlight, just how I liked it.

Sitting up all the way, I leaned against my abundance of pillows and crossed my arms over my chest. Last night, I had talked to my mother about Jacob and Kyle. And about how Jacob was a stranger to me, but how I still loved him. And about how I was with Kyle only because he was exactly like Jacob.

I started folding and unfolding the corner of my bed sheet when there was a knock on the open door and I looked up to see Claire standing in the doorway with a tray in her hands. She had on a big sweatshirt, Quil's Harvard sweatshirt, and a pair of leggings, her hair down but messy, her glasses resting on her nose. "You busy? Looks like you're plotting against someone…"

"Naw, I'm not busy. Come on in. I'm only plotting my new scheme for sanity," I said, crossing my legs like a first grader so she could sit on the bed. "Come sit with me."

She walked in and placed the tray between us, slowly lowering herself onto the soft comforter. "So, how are you?" she asked, turning to face me and crossing her legs like mine as best she could.

I shrugged. "I suppose I'm okay, but-"

"Yeah, I heard your conversation with your mom last night."

"You were listening?" I said, slightly shocked.

Claire smirked. "It was hard to not overhear you bawling your eyes out to your mother about how you still loved Jacob, even though you were with Kyle." She handed me a piece of toast and I looked down, embarrassed. "I don't want to sound _really _annoying or like a snarky bitch or anything like that, but Annie and I have been talking about this for a while… And it's about time you realized your stupid mistake."

I snapped my head up and looked at her. "What do you mean, my stupid decision?"

She picked up a muffin and picked at it for a minute. "Yeah, you're stupid decision. I mean, come on, Nessie, honestly? Were you actually serious about all this? About what's happening with Kyle and Jacob?" My eyes started to burn again. "Please… Don't cry, but just think about this logically for a second. Ness, you're an imprint, you're supposed to be with Jacob. It's how it was supposed to be…"

I chewed on my toast slowly, looking at her with sad eyes. "I figured that out… But, I was just so wrapped up in what Jacob had said to me that I didn't want to be around him. I wanted to punish him, pretty much, for saying what he did to me… And I didn't know what to do."

"Sometimes… Punishing isn't always the right way to go with the person you love most in the world…" I took another bite of toast, finishing it in seconds. "Hey, come with me," she said, standing up and holding her hand out to me. "I want to show you something."

I took her hand and followed after her, finding her leading me to Annie's room. She pushed the door open and I could see that Annie was still asleep, wrapped up in her thick blankets like a butterfly in a cocoon. "Over here," she said, standing in front of Annie's easel. "Come look at this."

Following instructions, I walked over to where Claire was, looking at what she was pointing to. It was a painting of a dark haired girl sitting on a rock. She looked like she was at a beach, with water washing to shore in the background, but she had on a long dark blue dress as she looked down, her hair cascading over her shoulders. And she looked sad. Her eyes were closed and her lips turned down sorrowfully.

"This is beautiful," I said, standing closer to it to get a better look.

"It reminds me of you," Claire said from behind me, running a hand through her hair. I turned around and looked at her, a slightly confused look on my face. "It's sad… And you're sad, Nessie."

I scoffed. "I'm not sad, Claire. Really, I'm-"

"I _know _you're sad," she interrupted, planting her hands on her hips. "I can tell that you are. Hell, I can _see _that you are. Nessie, you're practically… depressed." I was about to say something, but she kept talking. "Listen, Annie… She's… She's been keeping track of you. Well, that's only what I can assume…"

My forehead creased. "What?"

"With her paintings. Look here…" Annie moved and pulled out a canvas from the back of a pile of them and showed it to me. It was of another dark haired girl, but her dress, which was a gorgeous shade of red, billowed out around her, taking up most of the painting as the girl held a rose in her hands. Unlike the blue painting I had previously been looking at, it had a pleasant aura, one that made you smile.

"This was when you were still with Jacob, just after she met us and just before Seth had imprinted on her." I could tell where she was headed with this already. "The paintings aren't _of _you, of course, but they are of your, how do I say this, your attitude." I was right. "When you were with Jacob, this is how you came off to people…"

Claire put that painting down and picked up another one, handing it to me. This one was blue, but it didn't have the aura that the first blue one did. It was of a woman, but not a dark haired one. She had blue hair, and blue lips and blue clothes. Even her skin had a tint of blue in it. With stars and the moon in the sky, and her hair blowing in the intended wind, she reminded me of a goddess, but I could figure out which one.

"And this one… This is when you first got together with Kyle. You pretended to be happy and beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, you were just as miserable as, well, as miserable as you are now."

I nodded once. "Yeah, I can see what you're saying."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, am I right?" she said in a slightly mean tone. "Is Annie right?"

"Yes," I said, tears falling from my stinging eyes.

"Oh, Nessie, I'm sorry," she said, taking the painting from me and wrapping her arms around me.

I sniffed. "You're more right than you should be," I said into her shoulder, hugging her tightly as I let the tears fall. "And I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."

All of a sudden, there was a groan and I looked over to Annie's bed, remembering that she was still in here. "Listen, ladies, I understand that this is a great emotional moment and such, but could it commence elsewhere? I'm still sleeping."

"Oh, sorry, Annie," Claire said, wrapping her arm around my waist as we walked out. "Go back to sleep."

"God bless you, Claire. Sleep is what I need."

The two of us smiled at each other then went back to my room, sitting down on my bed. Claire leaned back on one hand, and ran the other hand through her hair while absent mindedly trailing a finger down the giant scar on her face. "How do you feel with that scar?"

"Like the Phantom," she said, giving me a sarcastic smile before biting her lip for a second. "I feel like Emily. I mean, she has scars like this two, but hers are from Sam… Mine are just from a car crash… But we get looked at by people just the same exact amount… It's like someone stuck a 'LOOK HERE' sign on our foreheads, with an arrow pointing to the scar… But, our scars are different… Like you got a scar with Jacob… But, I got used to _my _scar…" She smiled. "Maybe you should get used to yours."

And then she sat up slowly and waddled out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Closing my eyes, I rested my head against the wall and let out a slow breath. I was just so confused about all this now. Mom had told me to follow my heart, but where was it going to follow. I'd gone over it so many times in my head, I thought I would explode. Jacob was so different. Different in a bad way, but different in a good way, too. He was a stranger to me now, especially after that fight we had had in his cottage only two months ago. But, he was different because before that fight, he acted as if he would bend over backwards for me. He told me he loved me every single day, and when I looked into his eyes, I could tell he still wanted to.

And I still loved him so much, even though I'd tried with all my might to ignore it. Claire and Annie were right, that time they were talking before I went out with Kyle. I do still get that feeling in the pit of my stomach like I'm not perfect enough for him, even though I am. But, that's usually what got me so mad. In my subconscious, I still loved him with all my heart, but on the surface, the place I was paying attention to, I didn't, so when I felt my stomach start to do flips, I would get mad, and lash out at him.

So, yeah, I would at least admit it to myself, I still wanted to be with Jacob, and I would be with him if I so chose. But, what would I do about Kyle? He was a package of wonderful all in itself, not to mention the fact that he makes me feel wonderful. I loved him, and I didn't want to break up with him for no apparent reason. He knew I loved him and he would never buy the whole, 'I just don't think it's working out' card.

The only real option would be to tell him about the situation between me and Jacob, but that would involve having to tell him about how there were such things as vampires and werewolves, and that wasn't something that I could do. I didn't know _what _to do.

I flung myself sideways on the bed, looking at the wall opposite me. Then, suddenly, I sat up and ran down the stairs to Carlisle's office.

"Afternoon, Nessie." I sat down in the recliner and stared at him. "How are you?"

"I have a question." Carlisle nodded, looking over a few papers. I let out a sigh "If you had to tell someone something, but you thought that it could possibly ruin a lot of things, what would you do?"

Carlisle put down his pen and leaned on his elbows, his fingers laced together. "Well, that depends on the situation, love."

"Like, you were ending something between the two of you, because of a situation with something else that absolutely couldn't get out of, but the thing that you had to tell person A could possibly lead to the spreadage of something that could quite possibly turn the world upside down before it exploded on itself… What would you do?"

"What are the conditions of _not _telling this person your very deep and dark earth shattering secret?"

"Misery," I said frankly, running a hand through my hair. "For all parties everywhere, including persons A and B, as well as the person in the middle."

He nodded, clearing his throat. "Well, if you want my honest opinion, love, I would say, go with telling person A about your secret because if misery is the answer, then telling them is better than suffering, don't you think?"

"That's exactly what I thought," I said, shooting from my seat. "Excellent work, professor." I saluted him. "Until next time."

He saluted back. "Likewise. See you later, love."

Then I walked out of his office and shut the door behind me, nodding once before going back upstairs to think about my next action—telling my parents.

~*~  
That evening, I sat my parents down at the dining room table when pretty much no one was home. Claire and Annie had gone out with Rosalie to get more maternity clothes, Alice and Jasper went out for a walk and hadn't been back for an hour, and I wasn't even going to wonder where Emmett, Quil and Seth were. Probably out wrestling each other or something. But, wherever they were, they weren't in the house so it was a perfect time to talk to my parents.

"So… I realize that I've made some mistakes involving Jacob and Kyle…" I said slowly, folding my hands neatly on the table and looking at Mom and Dad. They nodded, Mom scooting closer to Dad and wrapping her hands around his bicep. "And I realized that I could have reacted to everything that happened better than I actually did, and I also realized that being with Kyle isn't what's best, and it isn't what I want."

Dad looked at me for a second, almost surprised. "And… What made you come to this realization, Renesmee?" he said in a light tone, an amused look on his face.

"I talk to Mom last night, and I just said everything I felt, and that turned out that I really… Loved Jacob." He nodded slowly. "I know what you're thinking…"

"No, you don't. _I _know that _you're _thinking, but you couldn't possibly know what I'm thinking."

I rolled my eyes. "You know what I mean. I know something along the lines of what you're thinking. You're probably thinking, like, 'It's about freaking time she realized,' or something like that, but in more mature, Dad speak."

He laughed. "Yes, I guess you could say that…"

"Exactly. Point is, I want to be with Jacob so much, and I know I should be with Jacob. So, I'm going to be… The problem is Kyle."

Mom cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean, sweetie?"

I picked at the cloth for the dining room table and didn't say anything for a long time. I knew Dad could hear what I was thinking, but I didn't really care. If he was decent, he would wait for me to say it instead of just telling Mom. And he did.

"Even though I love Jacob, I still love Kyle too…" I started, running a hand through my hair nervously. "And he knows that. I can't just say that it's not working out between us because of that. And there's really no other way to go about telling him that I still love Jacob without him asking questions, you know? I could say that I just love Jacob so much, but I don't think he would buy that. And I can't lie to him." Mom and Dad pursed their lips together and nodded understandingly. "I just… I don't know how to go about telling him that I'm going to be with Jacob without…"

"Without telling him," Dad finished for me, his hair flopping in front of his face as he looked at the table, thinking. Mom reached up and pushed it out of his face, leaning in to press her lips against the corner of his. "Listen, Renesmee… We're already losing it slightly. We've been living here for six years, Renesmee. Your grandfather doesn't age. Don't you think people would start suspecting something?"

I nodded. "Yes, Daddy, I'm sure that people are starting to get a little suspicious, and, believe me when I say this, Kyle will be suspicious too if I just let him go just like that…"

My parents let their heads hang, as if they were defeated, then Dad leaned over to Mom and began whispering something in her ear. He was talking so quiet, I wasn't sure he was saying anything at all, and I knew it was because I didn't have a good of hearing as everyone else in my family but Mom did, so he knew that she could hear him and I couldn't.

After a moment, they looked at me again, sighing. "We think you should do what you think is best to do, but do it in the best way possible," Mom said, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Make sure that you make it clear that he understands everything if you decide to tell him, and that nothing is vague in anyway…"

I nodded. "Yes ma'am, yes sir," I said biting on my lip. "I'll figure it out."

"You just do what you need to do."

~*~  
I sat in my room, cell phone in hand, getting up enough courage to call Kyle. I wasn't sure how I was going to tell him, but telling someone big news over the phone is never a good idea, so I knew for a fact that I wasn't going to do it right now.

I had his number dialed and ready, all I had to do was press send. "Just do it, just do it, just do it," I said to myself. "You're not even going to tell him, you just have to say you need to talk."

I hit send and pressed the phone to my ear, tapping my fingers on my knee anxiously. It rang twice before he picked up, sounding tired and worn out. "Hello?"

"Hi, Kyle, it's Nessie… Is this a bad time?"

He cleared his throat. "No, no, not at all. It's a good time. Lyla's just got a cold…"

I tsked once. "Oh, poor thing. Is she okay?"

"She's fine. But, whenever she gets a cold, she gets it bad, you know? It makes her miserable, and takes a while for her to recover…" I nodded even though he couldn't see, and the two of us were silent for a while. "So, uh, what's up?"

I took a deep breath. "I just needed to talk to you about something… Something important."

He let out a small breath. "Sure, talk to me."

All of a sudden he sounded a little annoyed and my heart started pounding. I suddenly didn't want to talk to him about anything. I wasn't sure if Kyle wasn't one of those people who got mad easily, but I knew I had to do this. If I wanted to be with Jacob, I had to. I had no choice.

"Well… I don't really want to talk about it now. I think it's better to do it in person."

"Oh! Well, why don't you come on over? We can have some lunch and you can tell me what's on your mind."

Again, I was hesitant. "I don't know…" He was silent. "Maybe af- after prom," I stuttered, my heart pounding in my ears. "I don't want it to ruin anything."

"Nessie, should I be concerned about anything? Are you sure it's something that can wait? I mean, you… You sound a little… How do I say this… Scared."

I forced a convincing laugh, to try to prove to him that I was fine. "I'm okay, really."

"So, I don't have to be worried?"

"No, I don't think so…"

Kyle let out a quiet laugh. "Alright, well, when do you want to talk?"

I was quiet again. I suddenly didn't want to be doing this anymore. Kyle, though understanding and caring, sounded annoyed, frustrated and short tempered. It scared me a little bit and I could feel my heart beating in my ears as I took a deep breath and let it out slowly through pursed lips.

"I don't know yet, just after prom… Whenever you're free to talk is when I can." He was quiet and I could hear Lyla crying in the background. "Look, we can figure that out later. Please, go take care of your little sister. She sounds miserable, like you said."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Just go take care of her, okay?"

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I will…" I nodded again. "I'll see you at prom then?"

A small, but real laugh escaped me this time. "Oh, indeed you will… Bye."

I was about to hang up the phone but I heard him call, "Hey, Ness?"

"Yeah?"

"… I love you."

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to not start crying.

"I… I love you too."

**Oh, sheeeeeit! Damn, readers, I have got to tell you, almost nine pages, NOT to mention the fact that I finally made Nessie come to her senses, something you guys have been penalizing me to do for about, oh, twelve chapters now. I better get something for it. Why don't you give me a review? Leave me something sweet! :) **


	18. Chapter 36

**Okay, NOW it's time for prom. Hope you enjoy. :) **

Chapter Thirty-Six:

It's Prom Day

When I woke up on the first Saturday of December, the first thing that ran through my mind was, _I'm going to my very first prom today. _

I stared at the ceiling, my hands placed on top of one another on my stomach. The fan that I always had going in the corner was humming quietly and I could hear Cristofori's Dream playing on my iPod, which I had fallen asleep to last night. I rolled over to turn it off and saw a note hanging from my lamp shade that was written in Rosalie's loopy scrawl.

**Gone shopping for jewelry and other last minute prom things. The corsages and boutonnieres came this morning, they're in the fridge.**

**~Rosalie**

Instantly, I shot out of bed and ran down stairs to the kitchen, wrenching the refrigerator open. Sure enough, there were twelve clear boxes, six of them containing corsages and the other six holding the boutonnieres for the boys. Each of them had a name on it, and I pulled out the one with my name, looking at the white roses inside. It had a large white rose in the center that was fully bloomed with six smaller roses surrounding it. There were navy blue ribbons of different styles that were tied around it and I could see a few pearly looked beads that were underneath; I could only assume that was the wristband.

I slipped it back into the top shelf of the fridge and looked at the others' corsages; Claire had a pile of dark red roses and very beautifully had rhinestones in the middle of the flower; Rosalie had one white rose with gold beads and ribbons surrounding it; Mom had what looked like purple lilies, blank ribbons tied to the end of the flowers; Alice had a single pink rose with bright green leaves and white flowers around the bottom; and Annie had off white flowers with thick gold strings and ribbons holding them all together. And then the boys had lesser variations of what we had.

Cautiously, like I didn't want anyone to see, I pulled Jacob's boutonniere off the shelf, looking at the flower inside the box. A plain white rose with what looked like baby's breath around it. I bit down on my lip and just tried to imagine how beautiful Kayleigh's was going to be. But, then I realized that I didn't want to think about that so I put Jacob's box back and shut the fridge, grabbing the half empty jug of milk before I did so.

I threw together of bowl of granola cereal and banana slices and took it to the table, where Annie had appeared out of nowhere and she hunched over a paper, drawing something with a black pen. I sat down across from her and chewed slowly on my cereal, looking at the paper curiously. When she noticed I was looking at it, she moved her arm so I could get a better look and I smiled.

It was a picture of an ink bottle that had a splash of ink coming out of the top, but instead of a regular splash, it was a design with swirls and little monster faces detailed into it.

"What do you think?" she said, putting her initials under the ink bottle and pushing the paper toward me.

I sipped up some milk from my bowl. "It's really good. How long did it take you to do that?"

Annie shrugged, taking a few gulps from her glass of seltzer water. "Like, forty five minutes-ish." My eyebrows shot up. "Around the time that Rosalie and them left…" She looked at the clock. "Yeah, it's eleven thirty now, they left at quarter to eleven, so, forty five minutes, yeah," she said to herself, running a hand through her messy hair.

"Mm… Why didn't you go with them?" I finished my cereal and put the bowl aside.

"I don't know. I just wanted to stay in today. I mean, we have our hair appointments at one, then nails at two fifteen and make up at three thirty to be ready by five, when the limo is supposed to come… Then I'm sure Dr. and Mrs. Cullen will want to take pictures and stuff. With all that stuff going on, that only gives us a half hour to get back here, then an hour to change into dresses and such, _and _take pictures which involve, like, posing while pretending to pin on the boutonniere and the corsage, then the girls have to do their pictures together, and the boys have to do theirs, then there are the group pictures and the date pictures and additional pictures, so-"

"Okay, Annie, I get it," I said, laughing as I interrupted her rant on pre-prom. "You wanted to stay in today because later it's going to be hectic." She nodded, standing up and going to the big room, settling herself on the couch, switching on the TV before scrolling through the channels. "Ooh, football game," I said, pointing out a game between two random high schools I'd never heard of before.

She selected it and right when she did, Emmett and Seth poked their heads in. "Did I hear 'football game' come from the lips of one of you very beautiful ladies?" Emmett said, walking in and sitting down in between me and Annie.

"Yes, you did," I said, leaning against him and propping my feet up on the coffee table as Seth sat down on Annie's other side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "It's just two high schools, though."

He shrugged. "That's okay by me. High school football is better than no football at all."

"Hey, Emmett, weren't you and Jasper going to go out for the football team this year?" I asked, looking up at him with a slight smirk on my face.

He pursed his lips together. "Yes," he said stiffly, not looking at me. "But, we decided against it at the last minute."

"You mean, Daddy absolutely refused to let you guys do it."

"No!" he said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

Annie and I smiled at each other. "Yeah. Dad wouldn't let you do it," I said in a concluding voice, looking back to the TV as Emmett let out a frustrated breath that made me start to giggle. I could practically feel Emmett roll his eyes and that made me laugh harder, covering my mouth with my hand. Emmett looked down at me, glaring, and I looked back, holding back my giggles as I gave him an angelic smile.

"I hate you," he said jokingly, wrapping his arms around me to give me a tight hug.

"I know you do, don't worry. I hate you, too."

We all fell silent as we watched the football game, and I found my mind wandering to Jacob, who was probably lounging in his own house, watching a movie or the same exact football game we were. He'd probably be still in his pajamas, like I was; sweats and a t-shirt. Or in his case, no t-shirt. Chills ran up my spine and I smiled, realizing how much I'd missed feeling those chills. I hadn't felt them since the day that Jacob kissed me in the hall near Carlisle's office a while after we'd broken up.

I thought about his eyes, how most of the time, now that we were apart, they would be black and dark, but how, when we were together, they were always so filled with light and you could see the flecks of gold around the pupil and then that would melt into his chocolate brown color. And about his smile, which could literally make someone combust into a million pieces from how genuine but also completely sexy it was. He had a lot of different smiles, and the one I liked the best was when he was laughing. Nearly all of his teeth would show and you could just see all the joy in him through that one smile. But there was also his innocent smile, the one where his lips were closed and only the corner of his lip would turn up. It was one he used a lot when he knew he did something cute.

And the way he held you. He wouldn't want to touch you like he was afraid you were going to break, but then he wouldn't be afraid, and then he would hold you like he was trying to protect you from literally everything bad in the world.

"Hey, Nessie… Snap out of it!"

I jerked up, sitting straight like there was a rod in my back and I looked at the three people on the couch, who looked back with concerned faces. "Sorry, I was, uh, thinking."

"_Clearly,_" Annie said, her legs across Seth's lap. "About what?"

"Uh…. Nothing," I answered as quickly as possible before standing up and adjusting my clothes. "I think I'm going to go read."

But then, instead of going to the library, where all the good books were, I walked out the front door, slipping my shoes on as I did so.

"I swear, she's going crazy," I heard Emmett say as I shut the door behind me, my flip flops thwacking on the stone walkway that lead to the driveway.

I could see Jacob's house was dark, but there was a light in the front window, a blue one that meant he was watching TV. I took a deep breath and walked over, knocking softly on his door. "Please, open, open, open," I said to myself, rocking back and forth on my feet. Nothing happened, so I knocked again. And again. And again. Until I finally just turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. I walked into his very small house, seeing his feet propped up on the coffee table, everything from the knees up invisible to me.

I stepped into the living room and saw him half lying on the couch, half not, fast asleep. Jacob's face was peaceful, his mouth open slightly as he just barely snored, his breath coming out in long huffs. His hair was falling in his eyes, but he then all of a sudden shifted, his hair moving as he looked at me for a split second, then went back to sleep. There was a blanket on the end of the couch and so I grabbed it, and laid it over his body, pressing my lips to his forehead softly before I started to walk away. As I did so, I felt him grab my wrist and I turned around to look at him.

His eyes were still closed as he said, "Nessa…" My breath caught. Jacob hadn't called me that since we broke up and it made my heart start beating in my chest like a humming bird's. "I'm sorry about last week," he said in a tired voice, shifting himself so he was lying properly on the couch.

I sat down on the coffee table, moving my hand so our fingers were linked together. "Yeah, I am too… I'm sorry."

Jacob nodded and his fingers tightened slightly around mine, his lips curving up into a small smile. "And I would have gone up to the house to say so, but I fell asleep." I giggled. "Is that why you're here? To talk about it?"

I was about to speak, but something held me back. For some reason, I didn't want to tell Jacob what I'd decided yet, not until everything was clear and under control with Kyle. "Uh… No. I just came to say that the corsages and boutonnieres came today," I said quietly, carefully pulling my hand away from his.

As I stood up, I could see him roll his eyes behind his lids. "Doesn't matter… I'm not going to prom anyway."

I froze. "Wait, what?" I said in a confused and shocked voice. "What do you mean you're not going to prom? I mean, you have a date and stuff…"

"Not anymore," Jacob said, shifting onto his side and tucking his arm under the couch cushion. "Kayleigh called me at, like, three in the morning from the hospital and told me she couldn't go. Her dad is in intensive care. He fell down some stairs."

My jaw dropped. "Oh, my god. Is… Is he okay?"

Jacob opened his eyes and looked at me for the first time since he'd woken up. "Yeah, he's fine. But, I went to see her and stay with her while she waited for the news and stuff, it took two and a half hours-"

"Which is why you're still asleep now…"

He nodded. "And when I asked if she wanted me to say, she said no, but that she couldn't go to prom tonight. She wanted to stay with her dad."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

Jacob sat up and shrugged. "No biggie. This just means that I can chill in my jim-jams and eat and watch, like, crappy TV." I smiled. "But, unfortunately that tux Rosalie insisted I buy is going to go to waste."

"Yeah, that's really unfortunate," I said with a laugh, running a hand through my hair. "Well, I'm going to let you go back to bed… I have to go get ready for my hair appointment anyway."

"Sayonara," he said, rolling over to face the back of the couch as he closed his eyes, falling silent. "Oh, and Nessa?" I stopped and looked at him. "There's an envelope on my dresser… I think you best read what's inside."

I saluted him and then walked out of his living room to the stairs at the back of the house. I skipped up them lightly and to the second floor, which literally consisted of just his bedroom, the only bathroom in the house and the attic. His dresser was right across from the door and I marched over to it, seeing an envelope lying on it, just like he said there would be. It was stuffed and thick, the corners of the envelope worn down. It was still sealed and the pen was faded and on the front of the envelope, in his messy handwriting, was my name—Nessa.

My chest tightened and my hands clenched the envelope tightly as I just stared at my name for what seemed like a thousand years. Then there was a sudden bang from down stairs and I jumped, my head whipping around to see if anyone was there.

There was no one.

Holding the envelope close to my chest, I went back down stairs and out of his house after turning off the TV for him, shutting the door quietly behind me. A sharp gust of wind blasted into my face the minute I was out of Jacob's house, making my hair fly all around my head like I was in a wind tunnel. I pushed it out of my face every two seconds as I walked to the main house, opening the door and shutting it behind me as I desperately cut off the wind behind me.

I walked into the main room and Emmett, who had been abandoned by Annie and Seth, I was guessing, pointed a finger at me. "I knew it. You _are_ insane." My brow furrowed. "Nice hair."

With a smirk, I started combing my fingers through my tangled hair, heading to my room to get dressed, the envelope still in my hand. "Asshole," I muttered as I walked past him, earning a playful slap on my behind. "Inappropriate!"

"I don't care."

"It's not okay for uncles to treat their nieces that way."

He shrugged. "I don't care."

A devilish grin spread across my face. "I'll tell Daddy you were sexually harassing me."

"…"

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Then, before he could respond, I flounced up the stairs to my room, passing my Dad on the way. "Hello, Daddy!" I said in a loud voice, making sure Emmett could hear me. There was a sudden sound of movement from down stairs and then Emmett was by my side, his hand over my mouth.

"She has nothing to say to you."

I turned my head as best I could with his big hand still over my mouth and raised an eyebrow. "Vut, he can sthill hera vhat I'm finkin'," I said, smiling into his fingers.

Emmett glared at me. "You wouldn't."

I glared back. "I vould."

We were all silent for a moment and Dad was giving us a very strange look. I was laughing silently behind Emmett's hand and then thought, _Emmett slapped my ass_. His look must have changed thirty different times in the span of two seconds; confused, mad, hysterical, and annoyed. Finally, he looked at Emmett only and crossed his arms over his chest before saying, "Stop slapping her behind," and walking away.

Emmett took his hand away and turned to look at me. "You are an evil, cruel little girl."

I smiled, wrapping my arms around his waist and giving him and tight hug. "I know. But you love me anyway because you have to," I said into his chest.

He hugged me tighter. "Well, I don't _have _to. I chose to."

"Uh-huh, sure. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must change into more appropriate clothes. I have a hair appointment at one."

I bounced into my room and shut my door, instantly heading to my closet after I placed the envelope on my bed. "What to wear, what to wear," I said to myself as I scanned the shelves and clothing racks for a good pair of jeans. I reached the end of the room, where the couch was placed and I smacked my hand to my forehead. "Of _course _she picked out an outfit for me."

Laid out on the couch, neatly folded, were a pair of dark skinny jeans, a maroon tank top, ankle boots and a leather jacket. It was ridiculously dressy, in my opinion. It was probably something that I would wear if I were going out clubbing. With a sigh, I walked over to the couch, noticing a sticky note was stuck on the jeans.

**Don't you dare think this is ridiculous. Rosalie wanted you to wear something more along the lines of a hooker. Consider yourself lucky that I convinced her to let me dress you today. You can pick out your own accessories…**

**~Claire**

I laughed and slapped the sticky note to the wall, picking up the jeans and letting them unfold. I pulled off my sweatpants and stepped into the jeans, which clung to my legs, loosening slightly around my ankles. There was strapless bra next to the tank top, so I put that on, as well as the shirt then sat down on the couch to slip on the boots.

There was a necklace sitting on my dresser that Jacob had given me when I turned twelve, just over a year ago, so I picked it up and clasped it around my neck, smiling. I remembered my birthday this year, when Jacob had taken me to the beach for our first date, and made dinner for me, and kissed me for the first time.

Suddenly, I yanked the first drawer of my dresser open and pushed aside all the socks and under garments, finding the blue velvet box hiding in the corner. I pulled it out slowly and opened it, staring at the silver and sapphire necklace and earrings. They had belonged to his mother, I remembered, and I slowly let my finger run over the gems, the coolness of them seeping into my skin.

When Jacob and I had first broken up, I remembered that I had ran into my room and nearly ripped them off, and then, I suddenly stopped, looking at the earrings and the necklace I had carefully placed into the box. I wanted to give them back to him, I didn't want anything of his anymore, but instead, I just pushed aside everything in the corner of my drawer and placed it there, covering it with a bunch of socks.

And as I looked at it now, I was so glad I hadn't given it to him. "So, so glad."

"What'cha doin'?" someone suddenly said from behind me and I jumped, dropping the box back in the draw accidentally as I turned around. Annie was standing there in an outfit similar to mine; tank top and jeans, but she had on regular high heels instead of boots. Black diamond earrings were hanging from her ears and a ring was around her finger as she held a green clutch in her hand.

"Oh, did Claire save you, too?" I said, motioning between our outfits. She nodded. "Yeah, I know. I mean, as much as I love clothes, these outfits are just too-"

"Too ridiculous," she finished for me, smiling when I nodded. "So… What were you looking at?" I turned back around and picked up the blue velvet box as Annie walked up next to me. "Oh, my gosh, Ness, those are gorgeous."

I chewed on my lip. "Yeah, I know. Jacob gave them to me for my birthday this year."

She scoffed, running her fingers over them like I did. "Ugh, I don't know how you could have ever broken up with him. I mean, _look _at these." I was silent and her eyes flicked around awkwardly. "Not that you shouldn't be able to make your own decisions about who you want to be with or anything," she added quickly, holding her breath as she stood perfectly still.

"Don't worry, Annie, I know I made a stupid mistake."

"Oh, thank God," she breathed out, letting her posture slump with relief. "We were all getting really concerned that you were losing it…"

My eyebrow arched. "'We'?"

"Uh… Yeah." I raised it higher and she made a face like she was trying to resist from saying something but after a while of staring, she broke. "Okay, so pretty much everyone—me, Claire, Seth, Quil… Your mom… Your aunts… Your _uncles_—were all really concerned. It seemed like you didn't understand what an imprint was. Like, honestly, Nessie, what were you thinking?"

I sighed, closing the box and setting it on my dresser carefully. "I wasn't. I really, _really_ wasn't. Honestly, I don't know what was going through my head. I was just so mad about what he had said to me that I let all the anger take over everything else. It was… so awful."

Annie nodded, biting her lip for a moment. "So… What's the plan now? Now that you know you were letting the five year old portion of yourself make the decisions?"

"I'm going to do what's right."

"You're getting back together were Jake?" she said in an excited voice, grabbing my hands in hers.

I shook my head. "No…" Her eyes narrowed. "I want to sort things out with Kyle first… I have to explain everything to him… Which means that I have to tell him everything."

She swallowed once. "Everything?"

"Yes… Everything." She mumbled 'Oh, dear' before I went on. "And he needs to be clear on everything and understand exactly what's going on before I make any further decisions about Jacob."

"Yeah, I can understand why you would want to do that… That's a good idea." I nodded once. "Well, I wish you luck in your future endeavors."

I laughed, hugging her quickly. "Thanks."

Her phone started going off in her purse and she rolled her eyes. "Hello? …Yeah, Rosalie… No, we're on our way now…" My eyes widened and I grabbed my jacket and a random clutch that was near the couch as the two of us ran down the stairs. I stopped halfway down and cursed silently to myself. "What are you doing!" Annie stage whispered, her hand over the end of her cell phone as if that were going to keep Rosalie from hearing her.

"I'm getting Jacob's letter!" I shouted back.

"His _what_?" she said as I appeared again and shoved the letter sideways into my clutch, the two of us running through the living room and down the hallway that led to the garage. "Seriously, we're getting into Nessie's car _right _now… Okay, see you in a few minutes."

"We're going to be late."

Annie whipped the seatbelt over her body and clicked it into the buckle. "Not if you step on it."

"She's going to kill us, I'm tell you."

She scoffed. "No… She won't."

**I broke up the chapters. They're there, so it's not like you have to wait so don't bite my head off. :D Review my loveable readers. I love you all! **


	19. Chapter 37

**Yes, there is more than one prom chapter. All together, there's three of them. This one, chapter thirty eight, and the next one. It's not until thirty eight do we actually get to the actual event of prom, but with chapter thirty seven, I think you'll forgive me. Read on and you'll see why. :) **

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

Last Minute Perfection

"I'm going to kill both of you," Rosalie said right as Annie and I stepped into Rivers Hair and Nail Spa. She was sitting in a waiting chair with Alice, Mom and Claire, her legs crossed at the knees and a magazine next to her. "You're late."

I leaned down to Annie's ear and whispered, "I told you…"

Annie shrugged and Rosalie just stood up. "Whatever. Get into the chair. Lily's waiting for you at the end…"

"I don't see why you guys couldn't have started without us," I said as I walked down to the blonde who was standing by a salon chair, setting out a hair curler, hairspray, and various varieties of combs and brushes.

Rosalie stomped her foot. "This is prom preparation, Renesmee Carlie Cullen. It's girl time. You can't start girl time when some of the girl's aren't _here_," she said, sitting in the chair next to mine. My hairstylist, Lily, laughed a few times as she ran her fingers through my hair, humming to the music playing through the speakers above us. "Now, get your hair done. I don't want to hear anymore back sass from you."

I was about to say something, but Alice, who was sitting opposite Rosalie, made a cutting motion in front of her neck and I silenced myself. I had brought in a picture of how I wanted my hair and so I handed it to Lily, who smiled. "Oh, that's pretty. I can do that… No problem."

And then she got to work. As she was spraying my hair, I pulled the envelope out of my purse and stared at it again. Then, with a deep breath, I flipped it over and opened it slowly, pulling out the papers. There must have been only two pages, at least, and some things were crossed out, then re-written, not to mention the fact that Jacob's handwriting is rather big.

There was a date in the corner; Saturday, Nov. 3rd. The day that Kyle and I went out to see Phantom of the Opera. I knew what this meant, so I took a deep breath and started reading.

_**My Dearest Nessa, **_

_**At this very moment (Well, not actually because right now, in the future, you're reading this, but as I'm writing it), you have gone out with **__**that ass-sucking douche who calls himself**__** Kyle, seeing your favorite musical… Opera… Operetta… Whatever the hell it is. And you look so beautiful. Honestly, I've never seen anything more beautiful in my life. **_

_**You're perfect. **_

_**But, you're not with me. That should be me out with you, taking you to the Phantom of the Opera. **__**Fuck. **__**I mean, I was the Phantom when we went to the masquerade thing. **_

_**Anyway… **_

_**Everything's changed. Ever since the two of us broke up, everything has been different. You and I aren't talking to each other, **__**you're acting like a hermit that won't come out of its shell, **__**you're really depressed, I'M really depressed. I just don't know what to do with myself anymore, Renesmee. There isn't anything left to do with myself anymore. You're gone. The two of us are no longer together and that means that I'm nothing. **_

_**I love you, Nessie. **__**I care about you so much and everything that's been happening… With you being mad at me and us not being with each other… I don't know how to deal with it. You're my everything. Renesmee, you are my reason for living, but I don't have you anymore. I can't hold you in my arms or kiss you and tell you you're my everything. If my reason for living is gone, then I'm gone. **_

_**And I wish there were some way I could tell you this without you pushing me away like you did before. You always do that. When something isn't going your way, you push it away and never listen to it. You're stubborn. You're like your dad. **__**Wait, no you're not, because that means if you are then whenever I kiss you, then I'm kissing your dad and… **_

I laughed out loud, covering my mouth with my hand and I could see Alice peak at me from behind her magazine, a small smile forming on her lips. I ignored her though and went back to the letter, scanning it quickly until I got back to the place I was.

_**I'm stopping there. Bad thoughts. My point is, I want to be able to talk to you without you **__**throwing a bitch fit**__** pushing me away like you would usually do. **_

_**And, I do want to respect the decisions you make. Even though it breaks my heart into millions of pieces, I want you to be happy, and if being with Kyle **__**'Asswipe' **__**Jones means that you are happy, then so be it. I will accept the two of you together. But, it kills me, Nessa, it really does. When someone like me finds someone like you, it's magic. But, I'm slipping away. We're pulling apart and you're taking my heart with you. Losing you was like losing everything that's important in the world because you are my world, Renesmee. **_

_**I love you so much, Nessie, and I don't want to lose you like so many other screw-ups before me have. They never loved their woman as much as I love mine. It's never been this way with any two people in the world. Some dudes say that love is never eternal, but mine is. Every time I see you, my whole body nearly lights up in flames and it feels like there is a force that is pushing me toward you. **_

_**But I can't go toward you anymore, because you aren't with me. You're against me. And that makes it feel like someone is **__**making me stand on coals **__**stabbing a thousand knifes all over my body until there's nothing left. I don't want to lose you. I **__**can't **__**lose you. **_

_**Eternal love, **_

_**Jacob **_

Slowly, I folded the letter back up and put it into the envelope. Only when a tear slid down my cheek did I realize that I was crying. Lily, who was currently curling my hair more than it already was, looked at me with a sad look.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" she said, pulling the iron lightly out of my hair and spraying the curl. I nodded, wiping away the tear and sniffing. "You sure? Do you need a tissue, or a hug or something?"

A laugh escaped me. "No, I'm alright. I promise."

Lily nodded, putting down the curler. "Well, I'm going to give you a hug anyway, just in case you're lying." She bent down at the waist and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, rubbing my back slightly before standing back up. "There, all better," she said with a smile on her face and she continued to curl my hair.

"Yes, thank you."

Rosalie, whose hair was miraculously finished in the span of ten minutes, spun her chair to look at me. Lily turned mine to face her and Rosalie crossed her legs again. "What was that?" she asked as her hair dresser sprayed what seemed like half a can of hairspray around Rosalie's head.

I waved my hand nonchalantly. "Oh, just this letter that Jacob wrote for me a while ago. No big deal."

"You're crying."

"Okay, fine. Maybe it was a letter about how he never wanted to lose me and how-"

"Read it," Claire said, leaning around the counter and mirror that was separating us. I turned my head to look at her. "Come on, read it. Out loud."

I bit my lip, my brow creasing slightly. "I don't know… Maybe this is one of those things where it's only supposed to be between the two of us…" Mom and Annie came into view from behind Rosalie and Alice, both of them giving me innocent smiles. "Fine. But, if he ever says anything about me reading it to you, then I will hurt you all." I reached into my purse and pulled out the letter once again, unfolding it as I began to read. "And he crossed some stuff out… But I'll read it anyway."

"My Dearest Nessa, at this very moment, well, not actually because right now, in the future, you're reading this, but as I'm writing it, you have gone out with that ass-sucking douche who calls himself Kyle, seeing your favorite musical… Opera… Operetta… Whatever the hell it is. And you look so beautiful. Honestly, I've never seen anything more beautiful in my life. You're perfect."

I heard Lily tsk her tongue once adoringly. "That's so sweet."

"That _is_ sweet," Annie said, turning her head slightly so her stylist could start pinning it up.

I nodded, continuing. As I reached the third paragraph, I had accumulated a few more audience members who were standing around and listening, and I did the best I could to ignore them and continued reading the letter.

"You're like your dad. Wait, no you're not, because that means if you are then whenever I kiss you, then I'm kissing your dad and… I'm stopping there. Bad thoughts."

Just like I had, the people listening to me read the letter laughed, and by now I had more than three fourths of the spa listening to me read the letter, even the receptionist and the people who did nails. Even people who were getting their nails _done _were standing there, either balancing on their heels or holding their hands up in front of them so they wouldn't ruin their half done nails.

"I love you so much, Nessie, and I don't want to lose you like so many other screw-ups before me have. They never loved their woman as much as I love mine. It's never been this way with any two people in the world. Some dudes say that love is never eternal, but mine is. Every time I see you, my whole body nearly lights up in flames and it feels like there is a force that is pushing me toward you. But I can't go toward you anymore, because you aren't with me. You're against me. And that makes it feel like someone is making me stand on coals, scratch that, stabbing a thousand knifes all over my body until there's nothing left. I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you.

"Eternal love, Jacob."

I folded the letter and let it fall into my lap as the entire spa 'awe'd, looking at me with adoring and envious faces. I nodded and smiled slightly, looking at everyone who was standing around and listening or leaning toward me from the places they were.

Then, someone broke the silence. "I have never had someone write me a letter like that," Lily said, and the whole place said something along the lines of an agreement before breaking away and going back to their original spots. "You're very lucky to have a man who would write you a letter like that."

"Yeah, but, too bad she _doesn't _have him," Rosalie said in a snide voice and every one turned back around and started at me.

"What?" some of them shouted, while others said "What do you mean, you don't have him?"

Annie nodded. "Yeah, she dumped him."

Everyone kept arguing with me, asking how I could dump someone like that or why I would do such a thing to someone like what Jake seemed to be. "Whoa, hey, it's not my fault," I argued back, making them all go silent. "I love him. I do, really, with all my heart. But, we had a fight."

"Everyone has fights," a wavy haired customer said.

"Yeah," everyone agreed, nodding and gesturing toward her to show she was right.

I nodded. "Well, I know they do. But, this one was different. He said that I didn't understand love and passion and such." A few of them nodded understandingly. "But, I realize my mistake now. I realized that a week ago, actually…"

"Then why aren't you back together with him yet?" a blonde manicurist asked, placing a surly hand on her hip.

"I have to sort some things out between another guy first. I have to explain everything to him, and tell him why I'm breaking up with him for Jake," I said, defending myself as best I could. "I don't want things to just be left open ended. I'm taking care of it, though. I promise."

I felt Lily stick a few bobby pins into my hair then she patted my shoulders lightly once. "Done!" She turned me back toward the mirror and smiled. "What do you think?"

I looked at myself in the glass for a long time. There was a bump of hair on the top of my head and my bangs were swept gracefully to once side, while my hair was curled and pulled back into a half ponytail. "Lily…" She looked at me anxiously. "It's perfect."

A wide grin spread across her face. "Oh, good. I'm glad you like it."

I stood up and hugged her. "Thank you, I love it."

I turned toward Rosalie, whose hair was pulled back and pinned delicately. She nodded, smiling and taking my hand on hers. "You're doing good, Ness. Only two more and then it's time for prom." She squeezed my hand once and then the two of us went over to the manicurists, who lead us to the big leather massage chairs. "Manicures and pedicures at the same time," she explained, sitting down and placing her feet into the bubbling water. "Saves time."

"Excellent," I said, sitting down next to her as Claire wandered over, her hair in a beautiful mix of waves and curls. "Pop a squat, baby mama," I said, motioning to the chair on my right side as she stuck her tongue out at me. "That's real mature."

~*~  
When we finished our make-up stop, and Annie, Claire and I had stopped for lunch at Benson's before the last appointment, we were driving home, the three of us in my car and Mom and my aunts in Alice's Porsche.

All of us still had on the foam sandals on, afraid to mess up our pedicures. Alice and I had both gotten regular French mani/pedis, while Rosalie, Annie and Claire had gold fingers and toes, and Mom had a variation of a French manicure, but instead of pink nails and white tips, her nails were clear with black tips to match the black jewelry and shoes she would be wearing.

I was listening to the radio and belting out We R Who We R with Annie when Claire tapped my shoulder. "Hey, Nessie, you got a text," she said, pulling my phone out of my clutch and sliding my phone open. "It's from Kyle."

My grip tightened on the steering wheel as we stopped at an intersection. "Okay, read it to me."

"Okie dokie…" Claire scanned the text message quickly, her face falling slightly.

"What?" Her eyes shifted to mine for only a second before she looked away. "Claire, what does it say?"

She sighed deeply. "'Hey, Nessie. Lyla's fever's worse, and I can't get a sitter. No prom for me. I'm wicked sorry. Call me if you can.'"

I held my hand out for the phone and she placed it in my palm. Before the light turned green, I looked at the message. It said exactly what Claire had read to me. My eyes stung slightly. "Wow," I said, sliding it shut and turning it so I had the dial pad. I went to my contacts and selected Kyle's number, pressing the phone to my ear. Claire turned the radio off and I waited.

Kyle picked up on the first ring. "Nessie! I'm so sorry!" he said instantly, his voice filling my ear with sadness. "Like, seriously. I'm in my tux now. I was all ready to go, but then her nanny called and said that she was sick too. She couldn't get out of bed. I called everyone else I knew, but they either couldn't or didn't pick up. I'm wicked sorry."

I felt tears build up in my eyes. "You're sure you can't get someone?" I clarified, my voice shaking slightly.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Ness, I'm so sorry. I feel like such a dick, really."

"Could your grandparents watch her?" Claire said suddenly, her hand placed on my arm.

I shook my head. "They're going out tonight. Some of their old family friends are passing through and they're going to go…" I stopped for a second. "Hunting," I mouthed so Kyle wouldn't hear me. "Okay, well, if you're sure, then it's okay. Don't worry about it."

My eyes burned, but I didn't want to blink, afraid that the tears would mess up my make-up. But then I realized I wasn't going to prom and that made the tears fall out of my eyes like raindrops. "Nessie, I'm sorry!" he said, sounding desperate now.

"Don't worry about it… Tell Lyla I say feel better."

Then I hung up, dropping my phone in the cup holder. Everything was silent and I turned sharply into our driveway, parking in my part of the garage before I got out, slamming my door and running into the house.

"Hey, Nessie, you look really pretty," Emmett said as I passed him in the mud room. "Wait, what's wro-"

But I didn't let him finish. I just ran right past him and through the living room, where Jacob was sitting with Jasper watching a basketball game. He looked at me and was about to say something but I dashed up the stairs.

"Claire, what's wrong with Nessie?" I heard Jacob say as I rounded the corner of Mom and Dad's room, heading to my own.

"She's not going to prom. Kyle blew her off."

"What?" Jacob said, sounding angry.

"Well… Not blew her off really. His sister's sick and no one can take care of her."

I ran into my closet and threw myself down on the couch, crying into my arm that rested on the armrest. My face felt hot, but the rest of my body felt cold, like a wave of invisible ice had just washed over me for no reason at all. I just wanted to break into a million pieces. It would have been my first prom ever, and now I wasn't even going. It was just an event that I wouldn't be going to while everyone else was. I could hear everyone chattering quietly down stairs, but I ignored them. I didn't care about what they were talking about. All I could focus on was that I wasn't able to go to prom. My first prom was ruined.

I sat up, still sobbing and looked at myself in the mirror. Miraculously, my hair was still as Lily had left it and my make up was still there, only a little bit smeared under my eyes. I wiped at it carefully, sniffling as I stood up and walked over to my prom dress. I ran my hand over the silky fabric, feeling more tears roll down my cheeks. I could hear all the girls walking up the stairs but thankfully, none of them came to my room. Five different doors slammed shut and then everything went silent.

Slowly, I took off my jeans and tank top, leaving my strapless bra on as I took my dress off the hanger and slipped into it, pulling the zipper up the side. It was a perfect fit and my lip trembled. It fit perfectly and I couldn't wear it. My shoes, which were directly under my dress, were just sitting there neatly so I knelt down and picked them up, bringing them over to the couch. I slipped my feet into them and fastened the buckles, standing up and walking around. There was a set of earrings on my dresser and I put them on, as well as a bracelet around my right wrist. Lastly, I added the purse I would have been bringing, tucking the strap into the bag part and holding it like a clutch.

I looked in the mirror once more and sniffed, wiping away the running make up again. I stood in front of the mirror for at least ten minutes, just staring at my figure. It was just how I imagined I would look and to me it was almost perfect. "But, I'll never get to wear any of it," I said to myself, sitting down on the couch as I let out a long, shaky breath.

"You look beautiful." I looked at my door and saw Claire standing there in her red dress and gold high heels.

"So do you," I whispered, crossing my legs at the ankles. "You're lucky you get to go to prom."

She walked in, her dress brushing around her ankles. "Come on, don't act like that, Nessie…" she said, sitting down next to me. "That's not fair."

"I'm sorry…" I took her hand in mine and looked at the ring on her middle finger. It was a lot like Mom's engagement ring, except a circle, not an oval, and it was covered in small pearls. "I'm just disappointed. And upset."

Claire nodded, wrapping her arms around me. "I know. I would be too. I just feel really bad about going without you. I feel like I should stay. That we all should stay."

"No… No! You guys have to go. It's _prom_, Claire." She stroked my cheek once, fixing my make up again. "So, go to prom."

"Will you at least come down and say good bye?" she said, standing up slowly and adjusting her dress over her baby bump.

I nodded. "Yeah, just let me change out of my dress."

"Oh, forget about that. You can change when we leave…" She took my hand. "We have to leave, like, soon, so come on."

With my clutch still in my hand, Claire and I went down stairs and into the living room. Everyone was standing around, the girls comparing corsages and the guys talking nonchalantly with each other. Jacob was still sitting on the couch, reading a book. He had on a sweatshirt and a blanket was covering his legs, which were, as always, propped up on the coffee table.

"You all look great," I said, leaning against the railing. Claire went and joined them, all of them giving me smug smiles. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Well, we all feel really bad about you not coming to prom with us," Rosalie said, grinning as she linked her arm around Emmett's.

I nodded once, giving her a sarcastic look. "Yeah, you look it."

Alice stepped forward, running her hands over her short pink dress. "No, we are, really."

"I bet you are."

"I have a question," Jacob said, raising his hand. He didn't look back at me but I turned and faced him. "So, you're not going to prom…"

I let out a frustrated sigh. "Yes, Jacob, I am not going to prom. Was that your question? Seems more like a statement to me."

He shook his head. "Naw, that wasn't my question…"

"Then what is it?" I said, planting a hand on my hip.

Slowly, Jacob closed his book and placed it on the couch next to him, running a hand through his hair. He sat forward and unzipped his sweatshirt, taking it off before stand up. He turned around as the blanket fell off his legs. I fingers fluttered up to my lips, pressing against them softly as I saw him standing there in his tux.

"My question is… Will you go to prom with me?" he said, pointing to himself slightly.

I stood there for a moment, just staring at him as my heart started soaring in my chest. Then I nodded and Jacob let out a sigh of relief as he gave me my favorite smile when I ran over to him and threw my arms around his neck.

"Yes, I absolutely will," I said into his chest, hugging him tightly.

He let out a sigh. "Good. For a second, I thought I got all gussied up for nothing."

With a laugh, I pulled away from him and kissed him quickly on the lips, giving him a wide smile. "This is so sweet, Jacob," I whispered, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "Thank you so much."

"It's my pleasure. I mean, come on. Who wouldn't pass up going out with a fine piece of ass such as yourself?" I hit him lightly on the chest. "I mean, uh-" He cleared his throat "-You look really beautiful, Nessie. A vision of beauty, really." I laughed at his mock cover up, smiling when he took my corsage from Mom and slipped it around my wrist. "No, really. Absolutely beautiful." He looked me in the eyes with a sincere look. "You're perfect."

My heart sped up when I realized he had written that in his letter. Mom handed me his boutonniere and with shaking hands, I pinned it to his lapel. "Thank you, Jacob. You look very handsome yourself."

"I do the best I can."

"Okay, everyone, outside for pictures!" Esme suddenly said, ushering us all out of the house and onto the front lawn.

"Annie, Claire, ignore the fact that it's forty degrees outside," Emmett said, throwing his arm around Rosalie's shoulders. "You've got space heaters for boyfriends, use them."

Instantly, the two of them, huddled close to Seth and Quil, hugging them tightly. We all stood in a line and Esme snapped a thousand pictures, then everyone got with their date, smiling at the camera as Esme took more photos, snapping random 'photographic' moments when she could. "Nessie, Jacob, it's your turn," she said, waving her hand for everyone to move aside as I stood alone with Jacob behind me, his hands resting on my hips. "Okay… Smile!"

A flash went off, then five more, before she stopped when the limo came rolling up, but Jacob and I weren't paying attention to that. "Look at Rosalie and Emmett," he said as I turned to face him. "They look like they're trying to do each other with their eyes."

I looked over my shoulder at my aunt and uncle, who were in fact staring into each other's eyes lustfully, their faces only centimeters apart. I looked back to Jacob and the two of us started laughing, smiling widely, and giggling. A flash went off, but when I looked at Esme, she was talking to Alice, the camera hanging on her shoulder.

"Alright, everybody, time to leave," Dad said, his hand on Mom's back as she stood there in her dark purple dress. "Into the limo."

I laced my fingers through Jacob's and the two of us walked to the limo, climbing in after Annie and Seth. I sat down and crossed my legs as everyone else climbed in. First Mom and Dad, then Alice and Jasper followed by Claire, Quil, Emmett and Rosalie.

Esme stuck her head in and smiled. "I haven't seen any of you like this in a long time." Rosalie leaned over and kissed her cheek before Esme shut the door.

"Everybody in?" the driver called from the front and Dad gave him a thumbs up before the car started to move.

Jacob held my hand tighter and leaned down to my ear, whispering, "Time to go to prom," before kissing my temple.

With a nod, I leaned against him and smiled. "Yep," I whispered back, squeezing his hand. "Prom."

**I had to break up the chapters. It was wicked long. It would have been this chapter, chapter thirty six and the next chapter, but just with thirty six and this, it's fourteen pages, so, forgive me. **

**But, hey, you've got some Nessie and Jake going on, finally, so review God damn it. **

**I love you all, I promise. **


	20. Chapter 38

**And here we have chapter thirty eight. Jesus, this is a long story. But, you guys are asking for more, so it's going to keep coming. TO THE REST OF PROM! P.S. by the way, I finally got the outfits and corsages and boutonnieres for prom up on my site, like you have been requesting. ENJOY! **

Chapter Thirty-Eight:

Winter Wonderland

When the limo pulled up in front of the Golden Gate Hotel, I could see everyone crowded around the front, one couple at a time walking down a red carpet to stop under an archway to have their photograph taken.

"Oh, I don't think I can go for any more pictures," Claire said, pushing her hair out of her face carefully as we all started filing out of the car.

Once I was out, I wrapped my arm around her waist and gave her a sideways hug. "You are wonder woman," I said, placing my hands on her shoulders. "You can survive one more photo. You're super mom. You can take anything."

She glared at me playfully but then linked her arm through Quil's and pulled him along as they followed behind the others. I looked up at Jacob, biting my lip, but then he placed his hand on the small of my back and the two of us headed after, getting into the line quickly. It went quite fast, and within two minutes, it was our turn to walk down the red carpet. We stopped under the arch and did the prom pose, smiling at the camera before being ushered away by a teacher I'd never seen before. My family was waiting just inside the hotel lobby, and then we all followed the crowd until we reached the main ballroom. Two men in red and gold uniforms pushed the doors open for us as we walked in and I gasped as I saw the room.

It was surrounded by silver-frosted evergreen trees, with fake snow sprinkled around them. Light blue, almost white satin curtains were hung up all around, blocking the normal walls and silver stars hung from the ceiling, all of them going up to meet at the top of the beautiful crystal chandelier. Off to the left were dining tables set up with all crystal glass place settings and silver utensils, with silver sparkles and snowflakes sprinkled around them. A stage was on the right, with more of the silver and white trees lining it, a microphone in the center. Looking at it all, I couldn't help but think of the time Jacob and I went to the clearing when it first snowed; it took my breath away just the same.

"It's beautiful," Claire gasped, being the first one to say what we were all thinking.

I nodded, feeling Jacob take my hand and pull me out onto the dance floor. The rest of the family followed us quickly, all of us starting to dance instantly. There was loud techno music playing and we all fell into the beat of it, jumping up and down, moving our hips from side to side and dancing with our arms in the air. A lot of songs I didn't know where pounding through the speakers and after a while, they slowed the music down for just one song and Jacob caught my waist, pulling me close to him.

"So, did you read my letter?" he asked, taking my hand in his and holding it up slightly as we started moving around the dance floor with the rest of my family. I nodded once, not saying anything. "And…? Any thoughts, comments?"

I shook my head. "Jacob… I just, I don't want to talk about this right now… Because this whole conversation has potential to ruin a perfectly wonderful night. And I don't want that to happen."

"Renes- Nessie, I just want to know what you think."

I shook my head. "And I just want you to let it go. Jacob, please can we just not talk about it for right now? Everything could be ruined with just a few wrong words and I don't want that to happen." He opened his mouth to say something, but I pressed my finger to his lips, shaking my head slowly. "Please, don't talk… Just dance."

And he did so, letting me rest my head on his chest as we continued to twirl around the dance floor, easily dodging the people who were just dancing in a single spot. _Amateurs,_ I thought to myself, smiling when Jacob twirled me out, then spun me back into him, dipping me backwards before pulling me close again. After a while, I could see Claire and Annie venture off from the crowd of people and to a table, Seth and Quil following after them.

As the slow song came to an end and the techno music started again, Jacob shouted to me, "Hey, do you wanna go sit down?" gesturing with his head to where they four of them were.

I nodded and Jacob took my hand, leading me back to the table. Claire had her feet up on Quil's lap, her incredibly strappy shoes on the floor as he rubbed her feet. "I think I may give birth four months early," she said to me, pointing and flexing her toes as Quil continued to rub them.

I giggled and sat down next to her, pushing my bangs out of my eyes and back to their original position. "You're not going to give birth. Maybe just make the baby fall out." She hit my on the arm lightly and I gave her an innocent smile, batting my eyelashes at her. "Hey, Quil, you wanna rub _my _feet?" I said, nodding to him once.

"Once I'm done with Ms. Oh-Quil-My-Feet-Are-Killing-Me-And-I'm-Carrying-Your-Child here," he said, raising his voice to a higher pitch to mock Claire.

I sat up straight. "Really?" I said excitedly. He nodded. "Have told you lately that I love you and you're literally the most amazing person ever?"

"Not recently, no."

"I love you and you're literally the most amazing person ever."

Quil grinned. "Well, thank you, even though I already knew that."

I rolled my eyes and sat back, kicking my feet up onto Jacob's lap. He brought his hands up to rest them on my ankles, then after a moment, he took off my shoes and set them down on the floor as he pressed his thumb into the bottom of my foot. "Never mind, Quil, you're fired," I said, smiling when Quil scoffed femininely, offended. "I still love you though."

As other people started to go off to their tables, the music started to fade down to slower songs and I recognized Drift Away by Uncle Kracker, a song that Jacob would always sing and get stuck in my head. At this point, the entire dance floor was cleared off and the same teacher I'd never seen before walked up onto the stage on the direct opposite side, going to the microphone and switching it on.

"I hope you're all having a fabulous winter prom so far!" she said, earning a loud cheer from everyone at the tables. "It's time for the meal, and during that, papers will be handed out to vote fo-o-o-o-o-or…. PROM KING AND QUEEN!" she said excitedly, getting another cheer.

I turned to the people at my table, all of them sitting properly now. "I didn't know there were a prom king and queen," I said, and Annie nodded, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Yep. Every year, everyone votes for the king and queen, who get to wear crowns and dance a spotlight dance. It's all really stereotypical stuff, honestly, but it's cool. I'm pretty sure there's like, a prince and princess too. Except they don't get a dance."

I nodded slowly and Claire took two bobby pins out of her clutch and pinned her hair out of her face. "Who is usually on the list?" she asked as waiters dressed in kitchen attire placed plates of food in front of us, as well as glasses filled with water.

Annie popped a green bean into her mouth. "Not the people you'd expect… Like, you know how our school doesn't have popular people, but there are those who are better known than others?" We all nodded. "Well, it's not them. A lot of the time, it's the people who are really… I don't know how to describe it. You'll see when the list comes out."

Then, we all dug into our food, chattering about how much our feet hurt or whether or not one of us would be on the list. We all thought that Rosalie would be on it, and Emmett. And then, a list was handed to each of us and my jaw dropped.

"Holy crap…" Annie said, looking up and me and Claire. "Like, oh, my God."

We all nodded. On the list with little check boxes next to the names were…

_Renesmee Cullen & Jacob Black_

_Alice Cullen & Jasper Hale_

_Claire Young & Quil Ateara_

"This is rigged," I said, putting the paper down on the table. "There is no way we would be on this. We've been at the school for four months. We barely talk to anyone."

Annie laughed. "Sometimes, it's just the pretty ones." I narrowed my eyes at her. "Well, let's think about this for a second… How could Claire make it on there? She got really friendly with all the art geeks, and they all love her. That must have spread around… Quil's only on there because it goes by couple. No offence, Quil."

He waved his hand once. "None taken."

"And then maybe Alice is there because she's just so friendly to pretty much everyone."

I nodded. "Well, what about me?"

"You're dating _Kyle_." My hand gripped into a fist under the table, my knuckles cracking. "It all maps out somehow… Just check a box."

Jacob and I huddled close together, a pencil in hand as we looked over the paper. "Should we vote for ourselves?" he asked, tapping his knee with the pencil.

"Hmm… I don't know. I mean, isn't that kind of selfish? Maybe we should vote for Claire and Quil…"

He shook his head. "No. Let's vote for ourselves." I laughed once but then nodded and he checked the box next to our names then folded the paper in half, putting it into the box a teacher was carrying around. "There. Done."

I grinned and turned back to my dinner, finishing it up just after the rest of them. The waiters came back and took away our plates, instantly setting a slice of chocolate cake in front of everyone.

"This is the best prom ever," Claire said, looking at it hungrily. "I want to eat it so bad, but I don't want to ruin it. It's so pretty."

I picked up my fork. "Here, let me help you with that." I stuck my fork into her cake and took a piece, popping it into my mouth.

"Ugh, whore!" she said, doing the same with my cake. "You take mine, I take yours. So, _ha_."

I stuck my tongue out at her but went back to eating my own cake. "Ooh, Nessie, try this cake," Jacob said jokingly, holding his fork to my lips with a bit of chocolate cake on it. "It's delectable."

I took a bite of it, pretended to take it for a second, then shook my head. "Oh, no, my cake is definitely much better than yours." I got a piece onto my fork and held it out to him.

He leaned forward and took the cake, nodding. "Oh, yes, yours is definitely better than mine, but you must admit, mine is quite delicious."

"Yes, I must admit it is."

We looked at each other for a second, fighting smiles before we broke out laughing, resting on the table as we tried to calm ourselves. Slowly, I looked around the table subtly and Annie caught my eye, mouthing, 'You're not with him why?' and I glared at her for a split second before sitting up and glancing at Jacob, both of us laughing silently every time we made eye contact.

After a while, a conversation about superheroes was brought up, all of us talking about who was better, and why.

"I'm all for the Flash," Annie said, taking a sip from her water. "Hands down, the best superhero _ever_."

We all exclaimed as if disgusted. "Oh, come on," Jacob said over the loud groans coming from the rest of us. "The Flash? Seriously? All he can do is run really fast."

"Yeah, but on Smallville, he's played by a really attractive guy."

I nodded. "Well, yeah, but so isn't Spiderman in the Spiderman movies, or Clark Kent on Smallville. Oh, and in the last Batman movie, he's played by Christian Bale. They're all attractive. That doesn't mean that they're the best superhero."

She looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Well, who do you think is the best, Nessie?" she said in a sassy voice as she took a bite of her cake.

"Superman, duh!" Seth answered for me and nodded, saying 'Yeah!' and reaching across the table to pound fists with him.

Annie rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"Because!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air slightly. "He can do everything! He can fly, he's wicked strong, and never dies, no matter what happens to him. The only weakness he has is kryptonite. And Lois Lane."

"Well, what about Batman? He can do all those things, can't he?"

I looked at Claire with a 'Be logical' look on my face. "Not really… Batman _can _die, he just doesn't. He doesn't really have any real powers, like Superman or Spiderman do… All Batman is, is just a really rich guy who can afford things that _make _him a 'superhero.' Think about it. Superman can just fly out of nowhere, and Spiderman can just shoot web out of his wrist. Batman has to have his special little cape flying thing, or a little gadget that shoots out a rope so he can swing somewhere."

Seth nodded. "Yeah, and think about it," he said, taking a sip from his water. "If Superman gets shot, nothing happens to him, because he's made of like, steal. But, if Batman gets shot, are his tights going to protect him? No, they won't. He will get injured because he doesn't actually have any superpowers." As if he proved his point, Seth took a prominent bite of cake.

"Plus," Jacob added, "I've always been a little suspicious about Batman and Robin. I don't know if Batman is gay, which is why he hired Robin, or if Robin is working for Batman because Robin is gay, or if they're both gay, but there has to be a reason that Batman is the only superhero with a male sidekick."

"There's the Justice League," Quil interjected, pointing a finger at Jacob.

Annie shook her head. "There's more than one of them. And besides, the leader is in love with Lois Lane. He's not gay."

"Maybe she's his beard," I said in a completely serious argument voice as I licked frosting off my fork.

Claire scraped the frosting off her cake and popped it into her mouth. "But, don't you think Superman would use Superwoman as his beard if he had to? Why use a commoner as a beard when you could use someone who is exactly like you?"

"People wouldn't suspect beardage as much if you used someone who was normal."

Suddenly, the music started up again and we all looked around at each other. "Okay, Nessie and Seth win, Superman's the best superhero," Annie said.

"Yes!" the two of us said together, standing up and high fiving each other loudly. "Of course we won," I said, sitting back down and taking another bite of cake.

Claire smiled. "Mm-hmm…" With great difficulty, she slipped her feet back into her heels and buckling them around her ankles. She looked at Jacob. "Uncle Jake, you wanna dance?"

"Hell yeah," he said, standing up and holding his hand out to her.

As they got out on the dance floor, Seth looked over at me. "Do you want to dance, Nessie?"

I laughed. "But, of course I would love to, winner," I said, putting my shoes back on before standing up and walking with him, feeling him take my hand as the music changed.

It was a song by Rascal Flatts, one that was slow-ish so Seth moved my hands to go around his neck. His hands were placed on my hips and we started stepping around in small circles, my head resting on his chest. I was glad when we didn't speak, right now I just wanted to relax.

But that didn't last long.

Not thirty seconds after Seth and I had left the table did Annie and Quil move to sit next to each other, talking quietly, but I could still hear them with my sensitive hearing. "So, what's happening with Renesmee and Jacob?" he asked her, leaning his elbows on his knees.

Annie rolled her eyes. "She's not with him yet. But, she said today and yesterday and a week ago that she realized she was being stupid and that she still loved him," she said in an annoyed voice, her hair falling over her shoulder.

He scoffed, he chin falling to his chest. "God, what is she doing?" he said, running a hand over his hair.

Annie shrugged. "I don't know. She said she wanted to make sure everything was cleared up between her and Kyle before she let anything with Jacob happen, but I don't really see the sense in that, you know? Why can't she just be with him now?"

"They're both suffering not being with each other," Quil added, finishing the last of his cake before washing it down with half a glass of water. Annie nodded in agreement then stood up, her gold dress brushing around her feet.

"Well, let's not talk about it. It's none of our business anyway." She held her hand out to him. "Let's dance, baby daddy," she said, pulling him out to the dance floor.

I let out a small sigh of relief when they started dancing and I let myself fall against Seth, closing my eyes as we started drifting in a slightly bigger circle, the music picking up pace slightly. Suddenly, there was feedback from the microphone and the music was cut off as the female teacher stood on the stage excitedly, a gold envelope in her hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have the results for prom king and queen," she said in an upbeat voice, bouncing in her spot slightly. "Would the three couple come up onto the stage, please?" From out of nowhere, I felt Jacob grab my hand and the two of us headed for the stage, followed closely by Alice and Jasper with Quil and Claire right behind them.

We all stood in a line and I could feel my heart to beat in my chest as the teacher smiled at all of us. Off to the side, the really attractive geometry teacher was standing next to my English teacher. She was holding a big dark red velvet pillow that had four crowns placed on it, each one more regal then the next. The princess's crown, or at least what I could assume as the princess crown, had a top that was shaped in a triangle, with swirls and designs that lead up to a pearl at the top. There were two combs on the side that were to hold it in place and even though it was made out of metal, it reminded me of the tiaras that five year olds play with. Then the prince's crown, very standard with just rhinestones placed around the crown. Next to that was the king's crown that had designs all around it, all of it made out of silver. And after that, the queen's crown. The entire thing was covered in rhinestones, the gems making loops that had pearls hanging down inside them. The shape of it reminded me of the crowns that the princess in The Princess Diaries wore, and all of a sudden, I _really _wanted to be the one to wear it.

Off to the side, there was a bouquet of flowers that I could only assume were for the girl who didn't get a crown. My heart started to pound faster in my chest when the envelope was opened. "Okay, here we go… In third place for prom king and queen…" She paused dramatically. "Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale." My heart beat picked up. The attractive teacher handed Alice the bouquet and gave her hug, wishing her luck for next time as he shook Jasper's hand. "And for prom prince and princess…" Another pause. "Claire Young and Quil Ateara." I slapped my hand over my mouth as the geometry teacher and my English teacher walked over to Quil and Claire, placing the crowns on their heads. I gripped Jacob's hand in mine. "Which means that your prom king and queen for this year's winter prom are Renesmee Cullen and Jacob Black!"

Everyone cheered and applauded as the crown was placed on Jacob's head and the teacher shook his hand. I very nearly couldn't breathe as the last crown was taken off the pillow and placed on my head, just behind my bangs as it leaned against my bump of hair. I smiled hugely and the teacher gave me a tight hug, saying 'Congratulations' as he pulled away.

I just nodded, unable to speak as Jacob put his hands on my waist and we posed for a picture together. When the flash went off, I spun around and threw my arms around his neck, laughing into his shoulder.

"And now, the king and queen will share their first spotlight dance."

The Only Exception by Paramore started and Jacob bowed slightly, one hand behind his back and the other one held out to me. I smiled and took his hand, walking down the stairs as the dance floor cleared and a light shone in the middle. Once again, my hand was placed on his shoulder and his on the small of my back as he held our other hands up slightly, the two of us slowly turning in a small circle, doing a very plain waltz.

"So, how is this prom going for you?" Jacob asked, giving me a quick Eskimo kiss.

I smiled, squeezing his hand. "It's more than perfect. It's the most wonderful thing that's ever happened." He nodded and dipped me down, looking at me with those enchanting chocolate eyes. I let my cheek rest against his chest and the two of us were quiet for a minute, just letting the song play but then I lifted my head and looked at him. "What about you?"

"It's great." He spun me around a few times like a ballerina as the music got louder slightly and then he pulled me back to him tightly. "Except there is one thing that would make it perfect, only I know that won't happen."

"Well, you don't know that… What is it?"

He bit his lip for a moment. "If you would kiss me right here and now."

But, before I got a chance to respond, his hands were on my rib cage as he lifted me off the ground, my hands on his shoulders as we spun around in a slow circle a few times as the bridge of the song began play. I looked down at him, with his eyes looking back at me, and my heart skipped a beat. Slowly, he started to lower me down when the bridge ended and as I got closer and closer to the ground, I could feel my heart beating faster and faster.

I was only a few inches away from his face and then I ducked my head down, pressing my lips to his, my arms wrapping around his neck. His hands slid around my torso, still keeping me off the ground as the song ended and everyone who was watching began to clap. I didn't pay attention to that though. The only thing I could focus on was the melting feeling that was washing through my body, like when you drink hot chocolate after being outside in the snow for hours, and the fluttering in my stomach and chest to be this close to him. Or the chill what was continuously running down my spine, the one I'd missed for two and a half months. I felt him smile against my lips and I held him tighter as he set me back down on the floor, pulling away from me.

"_Now _it's a perfect prom."

I kissed him again quickly. "Yeah…" We smiled at each other. "Perfect."

~*~  
Prom ended at three in the morning and as we all climbed into the limo, I found myself falling asleep on Jacob's shoulder. After the kiss, the two of us had stayed glued to each other's sides, never leaving unless absolutely necessary, which we never sat it as.

And even though it was the most wonderful feeling to be able to be close to him like that, I wasn't sure if Jacob thought this meant we were back together. I wasn't sure if it meant we were or not, and I was just as confused as he probably was, but it seemed that he wasn't letting it bother him, so I did the same.

So, when I was falling asleep in the limo, I just let my head fall onto his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around me, whispering, "Sleep, my queen," in my ear just before I drifted off. I could still hear everyone talking, but the ride only seemed to be ten minutes long because soon Jacob was soon shaking me awake, kissing my temple as my eyes fluttered open. "We're home," he said quietly, waiting until I was out of the car before wrapping his arms around my waist. He pressed his lips to mine momentarily before smiling. "Sleep tight, your majesty," he said with a smile, letting me go and walking into the darkness, back to his cottage.

I was in such a daze, I hadn't really understood what happened, but then Mom wrapped her arm around my shoulders and led me back to the house. The lights were dim, and I thanked God for that, not really wanting to wake up. "Go to bed, sweetie," she said, kissing my forehead as we reached the hallway between her room and mine. "I'll see you in the morning."

"It is the morning," I said in monotone, zombie-ing back to my room and to my closet as I started kicking off my high heels, dropping my clutch on the ground. I unzipped my dress and hung it on a hanger, taking off my jewelry and putting it on my dresser. I looked at my corsage for a moment, realizing that I didn't want it to dry up just yet. "Shit," I mumbled, not wanting to go all the way down stairs to put it back into the fridge.

There was a knock on my door and I went to open it, seeing Dad standing there with his hand held out. I placed the flowers in his palm and nodded appreciatively before closing my door again. I threw on a camisole and a pair of sweatpants and was about to climb into bed when I remembered the tiara was still on my head. Reaching up, I took it off carefully, really feeling how heavy it actually was. With a smile, I set it down on my nightstand so I could see it when I woke up.

I turned off the lights and sank into bed, stretching my arms. "Tonight was perfect," I said out loud to no one through a yawn. The memory of kissing Jacob during the slow dance flashed through my mind and I let out a blissful sigh. "Perfect."

**I bet you all want to kill me. I'm sure you do. But, I just gave you guys four chapters, so review and tell me what you think! You know how much I love those reviews! :) **


	21. Chapter 39

**I hope you all enjoyed prom. Have a blast? So did I. Enjoy this next one. OH! By the way, there is a very bad swear in this chapter. I don't usually use this word, in fact, I never have, but I thought that, maybe, just once, I could use it. Just a warning. :) **

Chapter Thirty-Nine:

Post-Prom Hangover Type Thing

_It was dark. So dark, I couldn't see anything in front of me. The ground below me was lumpy but sharp as my bare feet tried to walk around in an attempt to figure out where I was. The air around me was thick and hot and made it difficult to breathe, almost impossible. There was a sound from behind me and I jumped, stumbling backward. It was like a bang, an explosion, but I couldn't see anything around me. It was a blank. _

_Another sound. I screamed and tried to run somewhere, anywhere, to try to find a way out. But, when I tried to move, I felt my body fall forward and, although I hadn't felt my head hit anything, a dizzy feeling washed over me as warm liquid started to drip down my face. It smelled of iron and made the black seem to go even more black. _

_A sudden sharp pain in my back wracked through my body and it made me groan. There was a growling beside me, and hot breath that dripped down my neck. I screamed again and tried to run, but then, the feeling of knives dug into my shoulder. _

_This time, I could run. Every time I got far away, the thing the sound and breath had come from would always appear where ever I was going, even though I couldn't see it. I was surrounded. My hands dug at my ears as shrill screams filled the air and still I tried to run. Hands were clasped around my arms and I kicked and screamed until a calming voice filled me ears. _

_"Stop, stop." I couldn't see their face, yet they were familiar to my anyway. "I can't get you out of here. You just have to trust me." I nodded. "Do you trust me." _

_**Don't trust him **__a voice inside me said. __**Don't do it. He can't be trusted. **_

_"Well? Do you trust me?" Again, I nodded. _

_**Don't... Run. Run far away. Get away from him. He isn't good. Run! **_

_The person's grip on my arms loosened for a moment, but then tightened and it felt like the bones in my arms had broken. I cried out in pain, but no one could hear me. The voices were gone. The air around me was thicker and it seemed like all the forces in the world were closing around me as my insides twisted around themselves, muscles tightening around my bones before shattering them into pieces. I wasn't in control of my body. I couldn't move as I slowly started to burn on the inside, a sharp and aching back tumbling through my skin, like needles. _

_I couldn't feel the ground beneath me and just as I gasped desperately for air- _

With a shriek, I sat up in bed, my arms hugging my body. Sweat was beading of my forehead and trickled coolly down my temple. I looked at the clock across the room. It was six o'clock in the morning, much too early to be waking up for anyone. I wanted to die.

"Holy shit," I said to myself, wiping away the tears that had pooled in my eyes while I was sleeping.

I had gone to bed at three thirty in the morning, and now it was six. I hadn't even slept three full hours. My head pounded from how little sleep I'd gotten, but when I tried to go back to bed, I couldn't fall back asleep. It felt like a hangover, minus post drinking sleepage. I wanted to drown myself in my sheets and never see the light of day again, but unfortunately, that didn't seem to be an option, so instead, I threw back the covers and got out of bed.

"This is going to be the longest and most painful Sunday in the history of humanity, I just know it," I mumbled to myself as I walked out of my room and down the stairs, where everyone was lounging on the couch.

I tromped past them, not even saying good morning as I headed for the kitchen. I went to the coffee maker, which had barely been touched, except for Annie's occasional use of it to make power coffee while she was on a painting streak. I poured in the coffee grounds and the right amount of water before turning it on and sitting next to it as the coffee brewed. I was pretty sure that I looked like a wreck, since my hair was hanging over my face in a mass of tangled knots and I thought about the dream. I'd never had a dream like that before. Bad dreams, sure, but not nightmares.

"That's probably why you got little to no sleep, love," I heard my dad say from next to me and I looked up at him. "You were tossing and turning all night." I looked up at him and he nodded. "Your mom used to do that a lot, when she was still human." I bit my lip. "Doesn't really happen often to you though. Are you okay?

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine," I lied. Dad nodded and kissed my forehead without saying a word as he walked back into the living room. "Just absolutely damn fine."

Emmett walked in then, putting a plate in the sink. I was too tired to question it. Probably belonged to one of the wolves. "Good morning, sunshine," he said in sarcastic voice as he handed me a giant mug as big as a bowl. I poured the coffee into the mug, adding two spoons of sugar and some cream. "Rough night?"

"Bite me."

He smirked. "With pleasure." I just rolled my eyes, scoffing. "Ooh, attitude. What got tangled up in your rat's nest?" he leered as Mom walked in to see what was going on. "Ness, you look like shit. Like, honestly. The worst case of shit looking I've ever seen."

I turned to him, taking a gulp of coffee. "Go fuck yourself."

"Renesmee!" Mom said, dropping a glass on the floor, which shattered into a thousand jagged pieces.

"Feisty!" Emmett smirked, going for a broom.

"What happened?" Rosalie said, walking in from the garage.

"Nessie said fuck!" he called casually from the hall closet.

Mom planted her hands on her hips. "Watch your mouth, young lady."

Another gulp of coffee as the burning liquid traveled down my throat before settling hotly in my stomach. "I'm just not in the mood for his god damn childish antics today, okay?"

"Language, Renesmee," she warned.

I turned on my heel and walked toward Carlisle's office. Emmett was walking back toward the kitchen with a broom and I mumbled, "Asshole," before pushing the door open and shutting it loudly behind me.

Carlisle looked up at me from his desk and smiled. "Hey, pickle," he said in a soft and warm voice, one that made me calm down instantly, almost like Jasper's powers would. "What's on your mind today?"

"Bad dreams," I said, pacing in front of his desk after I'd put my coffee on the edge of it.

He nodded. "What about them, exactly?"

I looked at him for a moment, still pacing. "What causes them? Do they just happen? Is it something your mind cooks up when you're going crazy? Does it happen when you eat too much cheese?"

Carlisle pushed up one sleeve of his sweater and leaned back in his office chair. "Well, actually, it can be a lot of different things. Different things happen with different people. And even then, there's not just one reason. There are thousands." I stopped and sat down in the recliner. "For instance, maybe, sure, Person A will get bad dreams if they eat cheese, and Person B won't. But maybe both of them get bad dreams when they're also under stress, or pressure." I pulled my knees up to my chest and resting my chin on them. "Honestly, it all just depends. Why, did you have a bad dream?"

"Unfortunately."

"I see… What was it about?"

I bit my lip. "Well, everything was black, but it was like I could see. And I couldn't breathe and there were these… I guess, monsters, and they were, like, breaking my back and arms. And then there was a person who I couldn't see, but they sounded familiar and they were like, 'I can get you out of here. But, then they did this thing there my muscles tightened around my bones and they all shattered into a million pieces. And then I _really _couldn't breathe. And something was about to happen. Something bad. But then I woke up."

"Nightmare," Carlisle said in a concluding voice. He pushed up the other sleeve. "When you were younger, when things were going badly with the Volturi concerning, well, you, you would have bad dreams a lot. And you don't usually get them often. Your father says you had one or two when we were moving here because that was giving you stress… So did what was happening with the Volturi when you were a baby, even if you didn't fully understand what was happening… Only conclusion is that something must be happening now… So, what's on your mind?"

I let out a long sigh, running a hand through my tangled hair as best as I could. "I'm worried about Kyle."

Carlisle rested his elbow on the arm of his chair. "What about Kyle?"

"I'm worried about telling him. He could either take it really badly, or take it really well. I'm hoping for the latter, but you never know. What if he's one of those people who just flips out because he has, like, anger issues?"

"I wish I had answers for that one, love, I really do. The best thing I can say is just, tell him and find out. He may get very mad, but if this is something you need to do, then, well, you have to do it."

I laughed once, wishing I didn't have to. "Yeah, I know." He nodded. "Well, thanks, Carlisle," I said, walking over to him and kissing his cheek before picking up my coffee.

"You're most welcome."

I walked out of his office and shut the door behind me, passing through the living room. Emmett was sitting there, watching a football, while the rest of the family had dispersed onto other activities. I stared at him for a moment, and he slowly turned his head to look at me too. "Sorry I swore at you."

He waved his hand once. "More than used to it with Rosalie. But thanks. And sorry that I piss you off so much."

"Yeah…" We were silent. "Okay, see you," I said, bouncing up the stairs to my room. It was quiet. Really quiet. I looked around at the clothes strewn all over the floor, the books lying half read on chairs, my bed and desk, and at all the papers and school things that were pushed into a pile.

I went to my desk and opened my lap top, only to close it again. I didn't know what to do with myself. It was six thirty in the morning. I couldn't go back to sleep, and I just didn't have anything to do. Almost as if someone knew that I was suffering, there was a knock on my door.

"Come in," I said as I went to my window seat, holding the coffee cup to my chest as I tucked my feet under me. Alice came into my room, her hair wavy from the curls that had fallen out. "Morning."

She smiled and sat across from me. "So…? How was your first prom?" she said, crisscrossing her legs and placing and pillow on top of them.

"It was great," I said, taking the last sip of my coffee. "Like, there is nothing that could ever compare to it."

"I'll bet," she smirked, giving me a sly look. "I mean, you should have seen how much you were glowing and how happy you were after you and Jacob kissed." I felt my cheeks burn slightly. "Like, wow. I thought you were happy when you got prom queen, but… That definitely topped it."

I sighed inwardly. "Great," I mumbled, pushing my hair out of my face. "The school talks. I bet Kyle knows already." She waved her hand once. "I've messed up so much… I mean, I just ruin everything."

"Well, that's not true. Last night went as planned pretty well."

"Yeah, right," I snorted, leaning against the wall. "First, Jacob's date cancels on him, than my date cancels on me, than I kiss him when I'm with someone else."

She nodded. "Like I said, last night went as planned."

I snapped my head up at her and she grinned. "You… You knew?" She smiled wider. "You _knew _this was going to happen?"

"Of _course_ I knew! Why do you think I didn't order Kayleigh's corsage or Kyle's boutonniere?" My jaw dropped. "Come on, Nessie, give me some credit here, okay? I can see the future. Of course I could see this was going to happen. Gosh."

I glared at her, but tried to hide a smile. "God, you could have at least told me. Or given me a warning. Or something. Jeez."

Alice rolled her eyes. "And ruin probably the most romantic prom proposal ever? No way. Honestly, you lit up, like, twenty times last night, and most of them because of Jacob. You were almost luminescent."

"Of course I was." Alice smiled softly. "I just want to know what Jacob thinks about all this…"

"You can ask him now," she said, getting up from her seat just as Jacob pushed the door open cautiously.

She waved her fingers at me tauntingly then left after saying hello to Jacob. The two of us stared at each other for a really long time. He had the faintest smile on his face, one of my favorites, and chills ran down my spine for the entire time we were looking at each other.

"Can I come in?" he said, breaking the silence. I nodded and pat the spot across from me with my foot. "Cool." He walked in and sat down across from me. "So, I heard you swore." I rolled my eyes. "Gosh, you'd think that a prom queen wouldn't use such language," he said in a fake shocked voice, his hand on his chest.

"Yeah, well, sometimes the prom queen's gotta let out a little steam, you know?" He nodded slowly. "So, hey, listen," I said, crossing my legs like Alice had as I leaned forward. "About last night…" He was silent. "When we were dancing… The kiss?"

He waved his hand. "Oh, Nessie, don't worry about it. It was just a kiss."

"Well, listen Jacob, it-"

"No, seriously, don't worry about it. I know that you're with Kyle and that the kiss didn't mean anything, so just don't worry about it. You were just trying to make my prom perfect for me, since it was perfect for you."

I sighed. "Jacob, if you would just listen to me, you'd know that-"

"Nessie…" he said in a loud voice. "It didn't mean anything to you and I know that. So, just forget it." He turned toward the door. "It didn't mean anything, to you, so let it go."

"But it did mean something!" I said, jumping from my seat and looking at him.

He froze and looked at me, his hand on the doorknob. "What?" I closed my eyes as my hair fell in front of my face. "What did you say?"

I looked down at the ground, my eyes burning behind my lids as I whispered, "It did mean something…"

"What did it mean, Nessie?" he said, cautiously walking toward me with his feet shuffling along the rug. He tangled one hand in my hair, making me look up at him while be pushed some stray strands away from my face. "What did it mean to you?"

"It meant… It meant…" His hand loosened slightly in my hair. "It meant that I still love you," I said, breaking away from him and walking around my room in circles. He was standing in the center as I circled him like a vulture. "I know that you've said it so many times before, but I was wrong, Jacob and you were right. You just hurt me so badly when you said I didn't understand love even though you knew and I knew that I loved you so much. And you scared me. You were always so sweet and understanding and loving. You'd never talked to me like that before and it… It terrified me, Jake. I just-"

"Nessie," he said calmly, running a hand through his hair.

"Scared me so much that I didn't want to be around you, afraid that it would happen again. And then I got to know Kyle and he was-"

"Nessie."

"So much like you that I-"

"Nessie!" I froze, turning to look at him. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at the ground, laughing once. "I know… I know… I'm sorry too."

I bit my lip, running a hand through my hair. "You are?"

Jacob nodded. "So sorry… I mean, you said that I scared you. Never in my life would I ever want to scare you. Renesmee, I was born to love you. And that's what I've been doing since _you _were born. And you were born to love me. It's funny how it works." I laughed, but slightly half-heartedly. "I love you so much. What I said before, that was just before… I love you so much, and I'm sorry."

"You're sorry." He sighed and closed his eyes, nodding again. "God, I'm sorry too. I'm so sorry, Jacob."

With a small smile, I scurried over to him and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Alright, well, now that things are nice and sorted out between us," he said in a bright voice, pushing me away from him slightly, "I think now is a good time to tell you that I'm over you." I frowned. "Yeah, I, uh, I met someone else."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Oh, shut up, and kiss me."

Jacob grinned but gripped my rib cage in his hands, lifting me up off the ground and above his head, spinning me around before lowering me and pressing his mouth to mine. He shifted slightly so his arms were wrapped around my torso just as he whispered, "I love you, Renesmee."

I smiled against his lips and kissed him deeper. "I love you, too."

**Yes ma'am! Review, I tell you! Review! **


	22. Chapter 40

**Whoa. More chapters? Hell f***ing yeah, dudes. This story ain't over yet! Dudes, we got, like, a lot more to go. I know it's wicked long. I think I should explain to you guys why this story is so long. I feel the time has come. **

**So, about two years ago, I started writing a story called **_**Love Sucks: Nessie's Guide to Love and Life**_**, and it was a story inspired by another story I read on fanfiction, but I forget what that story was called. It was two years ago. Okay, anyway. So, I started writing this story. And about… thirteen chapters in, I realized, literally, I actually said this out loud, 'What the hell am I doing with this story, dude?' And then, I STILL didn't figure out what I was going to do, except I knew that I was going to HAVE to have Jake and Nessa break up. So, I did that. But then, wait, hang on, still nothing? Alright. I sat down, and how an hour, I figured out where I was going to make the story go. **

**Yet… **

**We're forty chapters in, and I'm not at the important part yet that flips the story around. And it kind of makes me want to cry. I occasionally worry that you guys are getting bored with this. But, that's not what makes me want to cry. I promise. I want to cry because I'm forty chapters in and I can't go back and cut down said forty chapters to, say, twenty. It's ridiculous. So, I just wanted to say… I'm sorry that there are so many flipping chapters in this story. Really. **

**Okay, moving on. **

**P.S. Mature writing coming in this chapter… Jacob and Nessie are back together. Come on. Fluffy. And peanut butter. A lot of it, actually. Just to warn you… Ish. **

**P.P.S. For Superfly 615243, because they requested that I update as soon as possible for my newest fan. **

Chapter Forty:

Keep Your Tongues To Yourselves

Monday morning, the day after Jacob and I got together, I woke up with the realization that I had to go to school. And, I wasn't sure if Kyle was going to be there or not, but if it was, I was pretty sure that I would be a disaster because I did _not_ want to leave Jacob's side. Ever again.

"Renesmee, are you up?" Dad called from what sounded like the living room.

"Yes," I said hoarsely back, barely able to hear myself. "Can I go back to bed, though?"

I heard him laugh. "Absolutely not. Get dressed. Breakfast is waiting."

With a grunt, I threw the blankets off my legs and went to my closet to get dressed. I threw on a pair of jeans and a red shirt, as well as my red Converse and a headband with a flower on it. There were earrings on my dresser, so I slipped them and just as I was trying to find a ring, Annie appeared in my doorway. She was wearing sandals, sweatpants that she had bunched up at her knees and a gray Yoshi shirt.

"You're wearing that to school?" I said as I tossed aside a ring with a skull and cross bones on it.

She snorted. "It's Monday after prom. If you expect me to wearing something even remotely fashionable, I will tear your eyes out. I'm done with dressing up for at least five days." I nodded slowly, setting a gold ring with an eagle on it aside for consideration. "Ooh, I have this jacket that will go perfect with your outfit," she said, instantly turning on her heel. "I'll be right back." I rolled my eyes, finding a cute daisy ring that I put on my middle finger. Annie came back a moment later holding a gray quarter sleeve jacket with a tie around it. "Here. It's perfect."

"Annie, it's, like, thirty degrees out."

"And you're running 120… _Yeah_." She shoved it at me. "Just put it on. Seriously."

Following directions, I slipped the jacket on, leaving it unbuttoned with the tie hanging in the loops. "Okay," I said, smiling in the mirror. "Fine, whatever. Stop acting like a smart blonde, alright?"

"Prejudice," she said, punching me in the arm. "Stop acting like a ginger."

I froze, looking at her with wide eyes. "_Whoa_. My hair is _not _ginger. It's _bronze_. Get your eyes fixed, Malibu Barbie."

Annie gaped at me for a moment, but then smiled, tossing her arm over my shoulder. "Come on. Breakfast is on the table. The boys said to shake a tail feather."

The two of us walked out of my room and to the kitchen, passing Jacob and my uncles on the couch on the way. As we walked by, Jacob winked at me and I puckered my lips quickly before Annie and I disappeared into the kitchen. Claire was standing at the counter, snagging some bacon away from the plate before Esme got a chance to hit her lightly on the hand.

"Nessie. Try the bacon," she ordered, handing me a piece. "Honestly, I thought I was going to die."

As I sat down, I took a bite of the bacon and nodded in agreement. "This is fabulous." I turned and looked at my grandmother. "Esme, this bacon is amazing."

"I would imagine so, but I didn't cook it, Nessie," she said, dishing home fries onto the plates set out at the table. "Emmett cooked breakfast this morning."

With raised eyebrows, I looked at her as my eyes widened. "He _did_. Why?"

"Because, I _wanted _to. Jeez, is that so hard to believe?" Emmett said as he walked into the kitchen, taking a water bottle from the fridge.

I shrugged and shook my head. "I suppose not. You're a great cook."

He smiled. "I know."

"Hey, hand me a water bottle?" I said, holding my hand out as Emmett started to toss one at me.

It was quickly intercepted by Esme. "No, no, Renesmee Carlie Cullen. If you have one of these, you won't eat your breakfast. You can save _this_-" She shook the water bottle at me "-For school."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, saluting her loosely before turning toward the table.

"Very good." Esme put the water bottle back into the fridge. "Boys, breakfast," she said as she poured orange juice into glasses.

Jacob, Seth and Quil came thundering into the kitchen, plopping themselves in their seats and instantly stuffing their faces with eggs, toast and home fries. "You guys are disgusting," I said, calmly eating my breakfast.

"Nessie," Seth said around a sausage and eggs before swallowing. "First of all, we are men. And, not only are we men, but we are working and growing men who are constantly doing things to make us hungry for a hearty meal cooked by vampires who have just too much skill when it comes to preparing food that they can't it." I rolled my eyes, stabbing a strawberry from the bowl in the middle of the table. "And second of all, you're right. We are disgusting."

"But we love you for it," Annie said, leaning across the corner of the table to kiss him quickly.

Seth nodded. "Damn straight."

I felt Jacob's hand shift from its place on his knee to reach under the table and take my own hand, linking our fingers together subtly. A smile formed on my lips and I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes. For the rest of breakfast, the two of us stayed like that, silently eating our breakfast as the other four talked aimlessly about how Claire wanted to take Annie baby shopping this afternoon and that the boys _had _to come along because they didn't have a choice in the matter.

Halfway through breakfast, when the talking had died down slightly, Quil looked up from his plate and straight at Annie. "Anns, not that it's cool having you here and all, but I just have to ask… What do your parents think of you _literally_ living here."

She snapped her head up to look at him. "What do _your_ parents think of you living here?"

"I'm in my twenties. My parents said 'Get lost' when I turned eighteen."

"Except it was much more loving than that!" Claire said defensively, putting her hand on his arm for a moment.

Annie smiled. "Right. I knew that…" Quil raised his eyebrows slightly, waiting for her answer. "Honestly, I don't think my parents would notice. They're doctors. They are either working all day or all night there, then spending the rest of their time sleeping. The only time they're awake is when they're working or driving to or from work. And my brothers moved out a while ago. I usually spend nights over at friends house's anyway, because all of my friends parents know my situation."

Quil nodded innocently as Annie looked to Claire. "What about you, kid. I mean, not to bring up a morbid subject, but I know about your mom, but not your dad."

Claire sipped at her orange juice. "My dad travels for his job. He's part of the air force and lives on the base when he's not traveling around. He and my mom got divorced when I was just a little kid."

That was when I tuned out of the conversation. I was too busy focusing on the fact that Jacob was running his thumb over my skin softly and squeezing pretend Morse codes to listen. When I finished eating, I stood up slowly, letting go of Jacob's hand. "Well… I'm going to head to school. Anyone want a ride?"

"I wouldn't mind one," Jacob said, eating the last of his bacon before wiping his lips with a napkin. "If you're willing to drive me."

I shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. Just get your stuff and meet me in the car." I headed into the living room, grabbing my bag from its place by the recliners. "Bye, everyone," I said, waving my fingers. "I'm heading off to school."

Mom looked up from her book. "Alright, sweetie. We'll see you there."

I nodded and walked down the hallway to the garage just as Jacob came in from his house. "Ready to go?" I said, putting my school bag in the back seat.

He grinned, grabbing my hips and pulling me toward him. "Oh, yeah."

I rolled my eyes but kissed him, wrapping my arms slowly around his neck. Jacob's arms wrapped tightly around my waist, nearly plastering our bodies together as my dad called, "Renesmee! Where are you?"

Instantly, I shifted away from Jacob and stood in the doorway to the garage as Dad appeared. "Yes?"

"Esme said to give this to you," he said, handing me the water bottle from earlier. I smiled and took it from him as Jacob climbed into the passenger's seat of my car. "See you at school," Dad said, kissing my cheek.

"Thanks… I'll see you in World Cultures." Dad laughed once and I climbed into the car, putting my water bottle in the cup holder.

Jacob was sitting there, his iPod plugged into the car as he scrolled through his playlist from something acceptable. His shaggy hair was falling in front of his eyes and I reached up, pushing it away as he turned to look at me. "You know, you still haven't told me what you thought of me letter," he said as he selected a playlist with songs by Secondhand Serenade. "I would love to know what you thought."

I smiled, pulling out of the driveway and to the road. "To be honest with you, it was wonderful. It was beautiful, but sad and at the same time, so romantic with a touch of devotion. I loved the letter, Jacob," I said, smiling when he reached across the console to take my hand. "And I love you."

He laughed once, kissing my knuckles. "I love you, too."

We sat in comfortable silence until we got to school, and when we got there, Jacob carried my bag for me. I could feel my stomach churning as I was afraid we would run into Kyle but that feeling eased when Jacob twisted his fingers into mine. The two of us walked down the hallways, getting smiles and congratulations from all the girls who were '_so_ jealous that you got prom queen, but you totally deserve it, Nessie.'

Jacob and I made it to my first period class without seeing Kyle, but as we stood outside the door, I could feel pretty much every organ in my body sinking into my butt. I had Algebra first, with Kyle. "Hey, if you see him," Jacob said, practically reading my thoughts, "just act normal, okay? And if he wants to talk to you about, like, anything… Just, act normal." I laughed once and Jacob smiled, twisting his fingers into my hair and bringing my face to his, kissing me lightly before pulling away. "Have fun in math and I'll see you in homeroom."

"Yeah, right," I said, squealing when he slapped my butt as he walked in the opposite direction of my math class. "Ugh, asshole."

He turned around and winked at me before I headed into my class, letting out the loudest sigh of relief when I saw that Kyle wasn't sitting in his usual seat next to me. In fact, he wasn't sitting anywhere at all. My eyes searched the room quickly as I sat down in my seat, but he wasn't there. I hoped it was because he was taking care of Lyla.

"Alright, students, you've got a minute and forty five seconds to finish up your cellular telephone text messaging or to get your iPod headphones away from your ears and into your bags before class starts. I suggest you hop to it," Mr. Lewis said, walking in and putting his briefcase on his desk.

Just as he said this, my phone started vibrating in my bag. A text message from Kyle appeared on my front screen. Sliding my phone up, I opened the message and held my breath.

_Can I have my teachers give you my assignments? Lyla's still sick_ _–Kyle _

I texted back a quick 'Of course', before sliding my phone shut and dropping it into my bag. When class started, my phone buzzed again and I pretended I was looking for a pencil as I opened the text message. I scoffed silently when it was from Jacob, but grinned like an idiot when the text message read '_Been only 5 min., can't stop thinking about you. Crazy._' I laughed once to myself and texted him back with. _'Can't stop thinking about you either. Wish I could see you._'

"Alright, children, technologies away," Mr. Lewis said as he rose from his desk and started writing something with triangles on the board. "Warm of question. A triangle. If 'A' plus 'B' equals 'C', but both 'A' and 'C' are unknown, what is the length of those two sides when 'B' is 16 and the triangle had a right angle?"

"That's the dumbest question ever," I mumbled to myself, picking up my pencil and writing the answer down on my paper. My phone buzzed again. I rolled my eyes but flipped it open. "What!" I stage whispered.

_Look out the door window. _

Slowly, I turned my head toward the door and my jaw dropped when I saw Jacob standing in the window. "No," I mouthed, waving him away. He nodded and pouted his lip, begging me to go out of class. "No." Jacob nodded excitedly, grinning widely as he put his hands in prayer position and looking at me with pleading eyes.

I groaned and typed him a text. _Jacob, I am in class. Go away. _

Only a second later… _I won't. Come on, just for a minute. _

I had started to type something back when Mr. Lewis said, "Miss Cullen, could you please answer the question?"

"Huh?" I said, looking up from my phone.

"The question, Miss Cullen. Care to answer?"

Everyone in the classroom snickered and I let out a sigh. "I can't answer it."

Mr. Lewis's eyebrows rose. "Oh, you can't? Where you otherwise preoccupied?"

My eyes flashed to the door, where Jacob was still standing. "Yes… I mean, no. I mean… You can't answer the question. It's impossible to know the length of 'A' and 'C' if you only have 16 as the length of 'B'. You need another side to be able to figure it out otherwise it's impossible. The Pythagorean Theorem requires two sides, not one. Having the right angle doesn't help at all. It's just a mock clue. The question is impossible to answer," I rushed out, letting out a quick breath when I finished.

"Very good. Did everyone else get that answer?" A few people in the class raised their hands while some started erasing the answer they had. "Alright. Well, let's continue on with today's lesson, shall we?"

I shot my hand up in the air. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

He turned and looked at me. "Only if you tell me what the square root of 'X' is."

"Can't. 'X' is a variable. To be able to answer that, I would have to have a value of 'X', but I don't, so the answer for the square root of 'X' is a variable, or 'X', if you prefer."

Mr. Lewis laughed. "Good. Yes, you can go."

I smiled and shot from my seat, heading out of the classroom. Jacob instantly appeared from an empty doorway and snagged me away from the Algebra room. I squealed silently and he pulled me into the empty room that had the lights off, shutting the door as he let himself fall backwards, taking me with him. His lips were on mine instantly, his hands gripping my hips while mine were tangled in his hair.

"You have no idea how much I missed this," he said in my ear as he trailed kisses down my jawbone. I laughed once, pulling him closer to me as I ran my fingers through his hair before bringing his lips up to mine once again. "I missed it a lot, just in case you were wondering."

I laughed when he picked me up and pressed me against the door, my legs wrapped around his waist. "I wasn't wondering…" He frowned. "I knew how you felt," I said and Jacob grinned, smashing his lips against mine.

I felt like my body was tingling from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Someone could get high of this shit, seriously. I think I was. I felt light headed when Jacob's hands gripped my waist as his lips started trailing down my neck. My head fell back against the door as my eyes rolled back in my head while the spot on my neck where his lips was lit up in flames. My fingers twisted into his hair again, holding him closely to me as he started sucking softly at my neck where my pulse was beating erotically.

"Oh, my God," I whispered quietly, feeling my heartbeat pick up even more.

Jacob laughed into my neck once, almost deviously, before he moved his lips back up to my own and kissing me passionately. I tightened my legs around him, bringing our hips closer together. He groaned from the presser and then it was me who laughed, moving my lips to his ear. I nipped at his earlobe for a moment and his hands gripped at my hips tightly.

Just as Jacob's hand had started to drift up my side, the school bell rang loudly in our ears. We pulled away from each other and I slid off from around his waist. "Shit, is the period over already?" I said, adjusting my jacket slightly while Jacob started running his fingers through his hair a few times. "It can't be! We've only been in here for a few minutes."

But, then there was the sound of people filing the hallways and my eyes flashed to the clock on the wall. It was 8:30, just when the first hour of school was ending.

"Shit. I have to get my stuff… I have to explain to Mr. Lewis that for some reason I wasn't in class… _Shit._"

Jacob opened the door to the classroom and the two of us stepped into the light of the hallway. "I'm sorry…"

With a small smile, I turned to him, pushing his hair away from his eyes. "Don't you dare be sorry," I said, grabbing his collar and pulling him to me. "That was the best Algebra class I've ever had. I really learned a lot."

He grinned. "Alright, well, go get your stuff… I'll wait out here."

With a nod, I swallowed and secured myself slightly before walking slowly into the now empty classroom where Mr. Lewis was putting papers into his briefcase. "Ms. Cullen," he said without even looking up. "We missed you in class. There was a question no one could answer and we needed your help."

He nodded to the whiteboard and I scanned the question for a moment. "It's seven," I said before going to my table and packing up my stuff.

Mr. Lewis looked up from his desk. "Very good," he said in a slightly shocked voice. "Now, tell me where you were."

"I was at the nurse's office… I started to feel sick on the way back to class." He nodded slowly, raising his eyebrow. "I don't have a note, though. She said she thought she didn't need to give me one because the period was over," I lied, gripping one of the straps to my backpack as I roughly flung it over my shoulder.

"Oh, well, I hope you feel better."

Then he marched out of the room without even a second glance. I watched him go, surprised he took the excuse before shrugging and walking out after him, picking up the homework packets he'd left on the first desk in the room as I went. One was blank and the other had _Kyle_ written on the top in swirly cursive writing that looked like it did not belong to a man, but I knew it was Mr. Lewis's.

"How'd it go?" Jacob said as he laced his fingers through mine.

I put the papers in my backpack as I said, "It went fine. I told him I was in the nurse's office." Jacob nodded once. "Don't you have to get your stuff?"

"I didn't have class… It's in my locker."

"Oh."

"Yep. So, we have to make a quick stop there before homeroom…" he said, taking a quick turn to a hall completely lined with lockers. He stopped at the first one and turned the dial before pulling it open. "Oh, by the way… Claire is taking Annie shopping and they're taking their victims along with them and your family is playing baseball today because there's a storm coming."

I looked up at him as he threw his arm around my shoulders. "Yeah? So?"

Jacob smiled. "We have the whole house to ourselves."

~*~  
That afternoon, after school, the house was, in fact, empty. Carlisle was still at work and everyone else had made themselves scarce elsewhere. Jacob and I were tangled together on the couch, watching, but not really, _Step Up 2_. His fingers were playing absently with my hair as our foreheads rested against each other.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, tilting his chin up to kiss me quickly.

I bit my lip. "Oh, I'm beautiful?" Jacob nodded, his lips now exploring my neck again. "Well, if I'm beautiful…" I kissed his temple. "Then you are _hot_."

I heard Jacob laugh softly before he shifted so I was lying under him, his hands placed on either side of my rib cage as he hovered over me. "And, if I'm so hot," he murmured seductively, kissing me after each word. "Then you are sexy."

I smirked and snaked my arms around his neck, pulling him tightly down to me. Our legs were sandwiched together as his chest was pressed against mine, pinning me to the couch.

"Prove it," I said as I kissed him deeper.

Slowly, his hands moved to grip my rib cage, arching my back as he pressed his hips into mine. A small moan escaped me and I felt Jacob smile against my lips. My hands tangled into his hair for a moment before my fingers ran through his shaggy locks and slipping to his jaw, holding his face close to mine. Slowly, almost like he was scared, Jacob's hand inched down to my back where he began to push my shirt up around my torso. He stopped just below my bust, tracing small circles on the small of my back, his hands barely even touching me as shivers ran up and down my spine continuously.

Just as slowly as Jacob's hands had moved, I let mine drift down to the hem of his shirt, staring him in the eyes for a moment before pulling it up and over his head. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as his upper half was revealed to me, for the millionth time in my life, but the first time in a circumstance where I could have it all if I wanted. I dropped his shirt silently on the ground as I marveled at the muscles I'd looked at dreamily so many times before. He lifted himself off me slightly as my finger slowly traced his abs, watching him shiver as well when I dragged my finger down his stomach and stopping at the buckle to his belt. Jacob looked at me and my eyes flashed to his and he bit his lip in a way I found most adorable. But, instead of undoing his belt buckle, I hooked my arms under his and placed my hands on the backs of his shoulders, pulling him down to me hungrily.

"I want you, Renesmee," he whispered huskily into my ear, trailing kisses down my neck and softly sucking the same spot he had earlier today.

I threw my head back on the cushion, running my hands slowly from his back to his chest, once again tracing his muscles with one hand while the other twisted into his hair. "Then take me," I whispered back, kissing his temple.

"Um, no… I don't think so." The two of us froze, not even daring to breathe as Annie suddenly walked into the room. "This is the moment where the best friend breaks up the love fest on the couch," she said as she grabbed the back belt loop to Jacob's pants and pulling him from on top of me. "Put your shirt back on and adjust yourselves," Annie ordered, before walking out of the room.

Jacob and I looked at each other for a moment, our cheeks flushed from both adrenaline and embarrassment before Annie shouted from the kitchen, "And keep your tongues to yourselves!"

**I think this chapter is, like, literally all fluff. And a good thing to because I've been wanting to write fluff for this story at least once. Yay! Okay, review. **

**Seriously. **


	23. Chapter 41

**Once upon a time in the land of make believe, Christmas for the Cullens came, like, two weeks after Nessie and Jacob were found making out on the couch. **

**In other words, it's Christmas time. Yeah. **

Chapter Forty-One:

Meeting Zoe

I was woken up Christmas morning with breakfast in bed. The first thing that aroused me from my pleasant dreaming was the smell of eggs wafting up into my nose. "Renesmee," someone cooed into my ear as they pushed my hair out of my face. "Wake up."

I groaned and swatted my hand at them. "Go away," I mumbled, hearing them laugh once. "I'm sleeping."

Then, there was a very gentle hand placed on my hip and I felt soft lips press just below my ear on Jacob's spot. "Wake up," he said again, pulling away as I groggily opened my eyes. "I made you breakfast."

"You did?" I said hoarsely, sitting up slowly and leaning against my pillows. Jacob nodded and sat down on the bed next to me, placing a tray across my lap. "Wow… Thank you."

Jacob shrugged. "No big deal."

I smiled at him softly and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders as I started nibbling at my breakfast. There was an omelet on the plate that looked very over stuffed and when I cut off a small piece with my fork, I realized it was because Jacob had put onions and little cubes of ham in with the cheese. Along with the omelet, there were two pieces of toast cut diagonally with butter, and a small bowl of cut up strawberries with thick whipped cream in top. Next to that was a glass of orange juice and a glass of water, with a velvet blue box nestled between the glasses and the plate. I instantly knew that that meant—jewelry.

I sighed quietly, but said nothing as I picked up the box and held it in my palm. Cautiously, I lifted the lid and stared, astonished, at the bracelet inside. It was a bracelet with rubies and diamonds placed around it.

"It's beautiful," I breathed as Jacob reached out and took it out of the box, clasping it around my wrist.

He quickly ran his thumb along the gems before smiling at me. "Merry Christmas, Nessa," he said, resting his forehead against mine before he tilted his chin forward and kissing me quickly. "I love you."

I reached up with the hand that now had the bracelet clasped around it and touched his face softly. "I love you, too."

Jacob smiled and the two of us started eating my breakfast in silence, nibbling quietly as Jacob ran his fingers through my hair as I shared a piece of toast with him. "I feel bad," I whispered after a moment, stabbing a few strawberries with a fork and popping them into my mouth.

"Why?"

"Because my present… I didn't really know what to get you."

He was silent for a while. I just sat there staring at him, my heart beating in my chest because I was afraid that I'd disappointed him or hurt his feelings. That was something I never wanted to do again, and I relaxed slightly when he wrapped his arm tighter around me, twisting his other hand with mine.

"You know what, that's okay. I'm glad you didn't get me a present."

My eyebrow rose slightly. "Really?" I said hopefully, truly hoping that he meant it.

Jacob nodded. "Yeah. Really glad. There really isn't any present that you could get me that would mean our relationship. The best present I got was a few weeks ago when you told me you loved me. Nothing could ever top that." I rolled my eyes, but smiled sweetly, tilting my chin up to kiss him. "So, I'm glad you didn't get me a present."

"I love you, Jacob."

He grinned at me, cupping my jaw in his warm hands. "I love you, too, Nessa."

Slowly, almost like I was afraid, I let my lips press against his neck, in the same spot he would for me. "Merry Christmas, Jacob," I whispered into his skin, closing my eyes before resting my head on his shoulder.

When Jacob and I finished eating our breakfast, the two of us walked down the stairs to the kitchen, where we placed the dishes in the sink. Most of the family was nowhere to be seen and a note on the fridge from my father confirmed that they had gone back to visit the vampires from a month ago for the day and that they would be back before five so we could all go hunting for Christmas, like we usually did. I also knew from experience that Annie and Claire were not up yet.

As I was washing the dishes quickly, I felt Jacob's arms slip around my waist as he started placing soft kisses along my neck. "You can't distract me while I'm doing the dishes," I said, pretending to ignore him, as if I could resist the feeling of his lips against my skin. "This job requires an enormous amount of concentration."

He snorted into my neck, not believing a word of it. "That's all bullshit, Nessa. You know you can't resist the totally hunkalicious body I possess, as well as my witty and charming charm."

I turned around, my arms wrapped around his neck. "Charming charm?" He nodded. "You are very strange."

"You know it, babe."

He left me alone to do the dishes as he settled on the couch to watch a movie. I hummed Dad's piano melody to myself, the one he always used to play when I was younger. I missed hearing him play. It always used to calm me and make me more relaxed the way soft notes would flow from the body of the grand piano. I used to fall asleep to it every night. But, now it was always silent.

I finished the dishes just as Annie and Claire were trudging down the stairs in a sleepy state. "Good morning, lovelies," I said, setting up bowls for them and pouring them cereal.

Annie spooned some granola into her mouth. "Why are you so happy?"

"I've had a good morning so far. Jacob woke me up with breakfast in bed."

"It's a wonder you had ever broken up with him," she mumbled back, spooning more of the cereal into her mouth.

I glared at her playfully and Claire squeezed my arm. "I think you look bright this morning, Nessie. Very pretty."

"Thank you very much, Claire." Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," I said, flouncing to the door and swinging it open. "Oh, my God!" I screamed, throwing my arms around the person who was standing in front of me. "Embry Call! What are you doing here!"

Embry hugged me tightly and laughed. "Hey, Ness! I missed you!"

"I missed you, too!"

He pushed me away and gave me giant grin. "Let me see you, beautiful girl!" he said as I spun around. "So gorgeous!"

I hugged him again and laughed. "It's so good to see you!"

"You, too. It's been too damn long!"

"Do I hear Embry?" Jacob yelled, appearing next to me. "Shit, son!" They hugged each other tightly. "Haven't seen you in, what? Seven years?" Embry grinned and shrugged. "Well, hey, man, welcome to Chicago!"

"Thanks, dude, I'm so glad that I was able to make it and-" He was cut off when a body flung themselves onto him and hugged him tightly. "Whoa, hey, I'm getting attacked. Who is this? Let me see your face, girl!" Claire stepped back to reveal herself. "Embry!"

He smiled from ear to ear. "Claire Madelene Young, look at you, my beautiful god child!" I laughed and leaned against Jacob. "Oh, you're so grown up." He kissed her scar. "Look at you with your scar and you're smile and- Oh, and with a baby on the way, congratulations!"

Embry patted her belly as she giggled. "Thank you so much! I missed you!"

"Ugh, I missed all of you guys, sincerely." We all grew silent and remained like that for a few seconds until it was broken by someone clearing their throat. "Oh, shit, I forgot." Embry stepped to the side and revealed a very small girl with blond hair and bright, blue eyes. She was smiling delicately with her hands held behind her back. "Guys, this is my very, very, _very_ good friend, Zoe Swift."

He winked at us. I instantly knew what that meant. She was his imprint.

I stuck my hand out to her politely. "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Renesmee and this is Jacob, and Claire."

"Hi, I'm Zoe. Nice to meet you, too, finally. Embry's told me all about you guys."

Claire smiled. "Well, good, then we can spend all of our time hearing about you." Zoe blushed but smiled, sinking back slightly into Embry. "Are you guys hungry? We just started breakfast."

Embry's stomach growled. "Ooh, set me up, dude. I'm starving." He looked down at Zoe. "You hungry, babe?"

"Um…" She rocked back and forth on her feet. "I guess so… Yeah, I could eat."

"Great. Then let's get this party started. I need food, bro."

He welcomed himself into the house, Zoe following close behind as he planted himself down at the kitchen table. "Well, hello there. Who are you?"

"Annie…" They shook hands. "Fitzgerald. You are?"

"Embry Call. Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"Do you guys want something other than cereal?" I said as I poured myself some tea. "I could fix up something better for you, in you wanted."

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his belly. "Well, to be honest, I could go for some scrambled eggs with cheese. And toast. And bacon. Is it possible?"

I rolled my eyes and started getting the ingredients out of the fridge. "As if you even need to ask. With me, anything is possible."

"Good!" He slammed his fists down on the table. "Feed me!"

I whipped up the eggs, toast and bacon faster than ever before. I had never really cooked. I was surprised I did so well. When I set the plates in front of Embry, he started shoveling the food into his mouth and Zoe carefully dished herself some portions, eating them neatly when she did.

"So, how did you two meet?" I said, hopping up onto the counter and resting my feet on the edge, holding my mug closely to me.

Zoe was silent as Embry took the stage and told us about him and Zoe. "I had just settled into my apartment in New York, what was it, two years ago?" Zoe nodded. "Yeah, two years ago. I live over this coffee shop, Cocoa Bean. Zoe works there. Saving up money for a trip to Italy. She got me my coffee. Zoe was the first person in the world who made my coffee properly and perfectly on the first try. It was love at first sight."

She blushed, rolling her eyes. Embry punched her shoulder slightly, barely even touching her and she came back with a right hook into his bicep. Embry winced, pretending it hurt and rubbing his arm. They smiled at each other softly. I smiled into my tea. Jacob, who was sitting on the counter next to me, slipped his arm around my waist. I leaned into his shoulder. We were all quiet for a while and then I heard cars pulling into the driveway and my family chattering loudly.

Zoe and Embry looked to the door and her eyes widened in shock when they all piled through the door in clothes beyond fancy for visiting friends. There was a mess of pink, gold, purple, black, red and blue as they all swarmed the kitchen, freezing when they saw Embry and Zoe sitting at the table. They grew quiet. Dad mumbled something that I couldn't hear, but I knew they others could and they all welcomed Embry and Zoe to the house. Esme handed Carlisle her black clutch and hugged Zoe. Alice and Rosalie did the same. Carlisle shook her hand as Emmett and Jasper introduced themselves. Mom and Dad just smiled at her.

I could tell that Zoe was overwhelmed. Embry was kicking back, relaxed and at home, but she was stiff and nervous. Her eyes kept flashing to the floor. _Dad, she's overwhelmed,_ I thought, getting a nod from him.

"Alright, everyone… Presents and, um-" He cleared his throat "Dinner is in less than twelve hours!" Rosalie and Alice gasped as they had forgotten to go shopping, something they rarely do. "If you have stuff to do, do it!"

Everyone scattered from the kitchen and Zoe somehow disappeared in the process. I had a hunch that Alice dragged the poor girl away to do some shopping. I slid from the counter and stood in front of Embry.

"She's cute, Em." He grinned, wrapping his arm around me in a sideways hug. "You did good, really."

"Zoe's really shy," he said in a concerned voice. "I hope she can survive Alice and Rosalie."

I laughed, walking out of the room as I called, "I'll keep an eye on her," over my shoulder.  
~*~

"Oh, and you can wear this!" Alice said, shoving a dress at Zoe. "Or this! Or this! Or _this_. Oh, my God, wear this!" She looked terrified. Her arms were filled with dresses, jeans, shirts and shoes. There was seven different headbands on her head that Alice wanted her to wear. Alice stopped, looking at Zoe with a questioning face. "Am I scaring you?"

"Yes," Zoe answered honestly, carefully putting the clothes on Alice's bed.

Alice giggled. "I have that effect on people." I arched my eyebrows at them. "Here, let's try this again, shall we?" Zoe nodded gratefully. "So, Zoe, we have a big celebration tonight for Christmas. It's the biggest time for us and we like to dress up for it. Did you bring any formal dresses or anything like that?"

"Just jeans and t-shirts."

Alice scoffed. "What an atrocity." Zoe looked at her, bewildered. "Would you like my help finding you something to wear?"

"That would be nice."

"Yay!"

Then, it started all over again. Alice piled more and more clothes into Zoe's arms. I walked over to the small girl. She must have been at least 5'1, she so small. "I'll give you a tip about Alice," I whispered, leaning against the dresser. "She's intense. Best thing to do to make it tone down is to go along with it." She frowned. "Even if it's out of your comfort zone."

"She's kind of weird," Zoe whispered back, a pair of high heels falling off the top of her pile. "So… Energetic."

I nodded. "Yeah, trust me, I know. I live with her."

"Is she your sister?"

"Sort of." Zoe gave me a questioning look. "Adopted."

"Oh…" she said, nodding as Alice placed another pair of shoes on the pile. "Well, you've got a big family. They all seem really nice."

"They can be sort of intense, especially around new people. They like you, though. I can tell."

Zoe gave me a half smile. "How can you tell?

"They were friendly with you. And Alice kidnapped you. You're part of the family already and you don't even know all of our names."

She gave me a full smile this time before putting the clothes on Alice's bed again and turned to my aunt, her hands held out by her sides. "Alice?" The tiny, little woman turned around. "Dress me!"  
~*~

"And… Done."

Alice stepped away from Zoe and reviewed her work. "How do I look?"

"Pretty damn good, if I do say so myself."

Zoe turned to me for confirmation. "She's right. You look good."

"Really?" Zoe said, flattered and as if she didn't believe me. "I do?"

I nodded and she turned back to look at herself in the mirror. Her green dress was a soft emerald color and Alice and matched it together with black, sparkle flats and other various black accessories. Her smile had grown and grown as Alice was dressing her and now she looked like someone had just kissed her full on the mouth.

Embry knocked on the door. He was wearing a dress shirt and jeans. "Ladies, I-" He stopped when he saw Zoe standing by the mirror, smoothing her hands over the dress she had on. "Wow, Zoe… You look, um, pretty."

"Thank you!" she said cheerfully, panting her hands on her hips. "Alice did it." Embry nodded once to Alice in approval and my aunt giggled. "Gosh, I feel so welcome and comfortable here already and I've only been here for…" Her eyes flashed to the clock on Alice's bedside table. "Wow, ten hours? Are you serious?"

I smiled and threw my arm over her shoulders. "Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it, Zoe?"

Zoe looked from me to Embry and said, "It sure does."

**I'm finally back. And we have a chapter. REVIEW kiddies! Hope you liked it. Zoe was created by my friend, Zoexclaire! :) Outfits on my site. :) **


	24. Chapter 42

**Alright, now we're really getting into Christmas, even though it's really **_**after **_**Valentine's day. Whatever, stories go at different paces. Outfits from Christmas are on my website, like on my profile! **

Chapter Forty-Two: The Whole Family

I was instructed by Alice to go get dressed as quickly as possible. Dinner was in a few hours and the three of us—Annie, Claire and I—needed to get ready, seeing as it _was _a family event after all, and one must be dressed for the occasion, shouldn't they?

Zoe was still in her dress and sparkle flats. She couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror. She broke herself away from Alice's mirror to walk with me to my bedroom so I could talk with her while I got dressed myself. She went to _my _mirror right away. Every so often, she looked over her shoulder and examined herself from behind, smoothing her hands over the dress.

She adjusted her jewelry and shoes. "You know, this is the first time I've actually dressed up this nicely," she said quietly, looking at her black flats.

I poked my head out from my spot in my closet as I attempted to do up the zipper of my dress. "Really?"

Zoe nodded as she fixed her headband. "Yes. Usually, I'm in jeans and a t-shirt or my work uniform. I guess a black skirt and white button down is as fancy as I've gotten before today."

"Interesting." I was still struggling with the zipper. "Zoe, do- Do you think you could help me? The zipper's stuck."

Zoe walked over to me and looked at the zipper. "You got it caught in your hair…"

"I did?"

"Mm-hmm… Here…" Carefully, Zoe pulled my hair from the zipper before pulling it up my back and securing it in place. "There. This dress is really cute."

I turned around and smoothed my hands over the skirt like she had. "Thanks. I got it a couple years ago. I never really wore it, thought. Thought it was about time I did, don't you think?"

Zoe nodded and caught my wrist. "This is really pretty, too," she said, running her finger over the gems.

"Oh, thanks. Jacob got it for me as a Christmas present."

"Are you guys, like, dating or something?"

"… Yeah, we are," I said, slightly confused as to why she was asking. She was Embry's imprint. "What about you? Don't you know what you and-"

Her face suddenly lit up. "Hey, you know what you should do? You should wear red and green, like holly and ivy Christmas colors or something!"

Instantly, I forgot about what I was going to say and smiled. "That's a good idea! I've got these red high heels what would be perfect!"

Ten minutes later, Zoe and I were looking at ourselves in the mirror. She was still in her soft emerald green dress and sparkle flats, I was decked out in my green dress, red heels and an assortment of red and green jewelry.

"This is very nice," I said as we both turned around to look at ourselves. "Very nice, indeed."

Zoe smiled and there was a knock on the door. "Hey, ladies?" Rosalie walked in wearing a sparkly purple dress and black boots. "Dinner's ready."

The two of us nodded and followed her out of my room to the TV room. The couch, coffee table and recliners had been moved and a dining room table had been put in their place. A lace tablecloth had been laid out and food was already on the table.

Esme, who was wearing a dark red sweater, pencil skirt and black heels, came in carrying a giant turkey. Everyone started clapping as she set it on the table.

"Thank you," she said, placing her hand on her hips. "Dinner… is served. Help yourselves."

The wolves, who had dressed themselves in button downs with jeans and ties, nearly tore the table apart as they tried to get as much food as possible. Claire, Annie and I sat down calmly, taking portions for ourselves. I looked up at Zoe then patted the seat between me and Embry for her to sit down.

"Help yourself, seriously," I said, spooning green bean casserole onto my plate.

She did so and I was lost in the sound of Christmas dinner, soft chatter from my parents that I couldn't hear, as always, and cheerful cries of the people at the table.

"Claire, pass the potatoes!"

"No way, you've already got a mountain of them!"

"Who wants a drumstick?"

"Me!"

"Me, too!"

"Me, three!"

"I'll fight you for it!"

"Rocks, paper, scissors-"

"Corn, now!"

"What's the magic word, Jake?"

"I love you, Nessa!"

"No, but close enough."

"Can I have the gravy, Quill. You're hogging."

"Annie, stop being such a stuck up snob. Say please."

"Quill, can I please have the gravy?"

I laughed to myself, picking at the drumstick I had won from Seth. "Zoe, do you want some turkey?"

She looked up from her plate. "Oh, no, thank you. I'm a vegetarian."

Emmett, who had been nearly eating Rosalie's face, stopped and looked at her. "You're a vegetarian?" Zoe nodded. "Me, too!"

Embry, who had been stuffing his face with—get this—stuffing, stopped suddenly and glared at him. "You son of a bitch," he grumbled.

Zoe didn't notice. "You're a vegetarian? Really? That's cool! How long have you been one for?"

"_Long _time."

Embry was still grumbling, calling Emmett a great variety of swear names. My whole family looked slightly uneasy I didn't know why.

Emmett was grinning like an idiot. "You know, I think that I've been one ever since-"

"How's the food, everyone?" my mom suddenly cut in, placing her hands on her hips, which were covered by a white pencil dress with a deep flower pattern on it. I noticed her shoes and jewelry was borrowed from my closet. "Good, I hope."

All the wolves said something in agreement, but it was hard to hear around the food that was shoved in their mouths. Claire, Annie and I just nodded.

"It is very delicious," Zoe said, "but, why aren't you guys eating?"

She took a warm roll from the basket in the middle of the table. "We are eating our dinner later, dear," Esme said, leaning against Carlisle when he wrapped his arm around her waist. "An adult dinner. Later."

Emmett snorted. "Yeah, adult dinner. When Edward is _supposed _to be the same age as Claire… _Supposed _to be."

Zoe was about to say something but Embry spooned some potatoes into her mouth. "Try this, kid."

Everyone fell silent for a while. Alice, who was standing next to Jasper, adjusted the gray tank top she was wearing as well as the clear gemmed necklace around her waist. She looked concerned. Jasper kissed her temple. Suddenly, Annie looked up from her plate at the same time Claire did.

"Done!" they said at the same time, leaning back in their chairs.

Seth and Quil, who had finished long before they did, applauded them. Jacob gulped down the rest of his sparkling apple cider and finished his meal, too.

"Are you two done?" Claire asked, her hands resting on her belly contently.

Zoe and I nodded. "Let's go upstairs," I said, standing from my hair and adjusting my dress.

"Why?" Zoe asked, standing up with me.

"Girl talk," Annie answered for me, her teal high heels clicking on the stairs.

Claire's heels, which were actually Alice's cream colored ones, did the same, her blue dress swishing around her thighs. I took Zoe's hand and we walked up the stairs as well just as I heard voices start to bubble up. I knew guests were arriving. Hopefully, Zoe wouldn't get too overwhelmed.

The minute we were all settled on my bed, the girl talk I had missed out on for thirteen years of my life began.

"So, Claire, what's it like, if you don't mind my asking, to be pregnant at…"

"Seventeen?" Zoe nodded. "Well, it's obviously different that how I imagined myself to be at this age and how I imagined my life would be, but it's there and I can't change it. I try to enjoy it as much as I can. Being pregnant is the only life I know as a seventeen year old I know." We all nodded. I know Claire was getting ready for a monologue.

"I mean, I love this baby with all my heart and it's not even in the world yet. He or she is still living in my belly, but there is absolutely no love in me that I couldn't possibly not be giving it. And I'm surrounded by people I love who love and support me as much as they possibly can. Carlisle has helped me with hospital stuff and Esme has told me about mothering. Rosalie and Alice shop with me for baby stuff. Edward suggested that we add an extension to the house for a nursery, and all the men, including the wolves, have started the plan and they want to start building soon.

"This family is my real family. My mother kicked my out, and these people took me in and treated me like I was one of their own kids. I couldn't have asked for anyone better. I feel especially blessed that I can have my baby with Quil because I love him so much."

Annie, Zoe and I smiled. "That's really wonderful, Claire," Zoe said.

"Yeah! She's taking her shit situation and turning it into a not so shit one!" Annie said, earning a playful slap. "But, no, I understand. If I were having a baby with Seth, I wouldn't feel the same way."

I grinned. "You'd have to have sex with him first."

"I could say the same for you, virgin!"

"You wouldn't be able to if you hadn't walked in on us!" Annie laughed aloud. "But, I'd have to say the same, if Jake and I were pregnant." The three of us nodded in agreement. "Yeah…"

Clair turned to Zoe. "What about you, Zoe?" She frowned. "What's it like dating Embry?"

I moved in toward her. "Yeah, I've always wanted to know—what's it like?"

Zoe laughed. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, 'What do I mean'?"

"You think that Embry and I are dating?"

My brow creased. "Well, aren't you?"

Zoe pulled a pillow to her chest. "No, why would we be? I mean, I've always had a little bit of a crush on him, but he's never really shown any sign of feelings… So… Why would we be dating?"

"Because you're his imprint," Claire said, running a hand through her hair before dragging her pointer finger down her scar.

"What's an imprint?"

Annie roller her eyes. "It's what you are, Zoe! You know! When a werewolf sees someone and they fall in love."

Zoe all of a sudden looked confused. "A what?"

"Werewolf."

"You guys have got to be kidding me. Werewolves aren't real."

"Of course they are. Embry's a werewolf, the Cullens are vampires, Nessie's half vampire-half human."

Zoe laughed out loud. "Okay, now you guys are totally joking with me. Vampires and half bloods? Those aren't real. And werewolves _definitely _aren't."

Suddenly, it all made sense to me; Embry's mumbled at dinner, Emmett joking around, my father whispering things I wouldn't hear, my family eating dinner 'later', being awkwardly quiet. It all fit like a puzzle.

Zoe didn't know about us, she didn't know about the Quiluetes, she didn't know anything about things that were supposed to be part of a fantasy world with warlocks and ghosts.

"Sure werewolves are real. Embry's one, Jacob's one, all of the boys are," Annie blurted out.

"Guys," I said, trying to get their attention.

They ignored me.

"And all of us, the four of us, we're imprints," Claire said, motioning to us all. "Seth, Quil, Jacob and Embry all grew instantly attached to us at first sight.

"Guys."

"You're Embry's imprint, so technically, you're supposed to feel something that doesn't feel like a crush, like you said it was."

"Guys…"

"For me, it's something that makes me feel like I'm on fire and-"

"Guys!"

Claire and Annie stopped and looked at me with surprised looked.

"She doesn't know." Their jaws dropped. "Embry didn't tell her anything. She doesn't know."

We all looked at Zoe. She was sitting there with wide eyes that were staring at my wall. Her face had turned white and her lips were pressed together into a straight line.

"Zoe, are you okay?"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she shot from the bed and dashed out of the room.

"Shit!" we all cried at the same time, running out of the room after her. Our high heels were stomping on the stairs. "Embry!" we shouted, seeing Zoe push though the vampires that had gathered in the living room. "Embry, we're sorry!"

The gathering quieted as they all gave us strange looks. We ignored them as we watched Zoe push throw open the sliding glass door and run to Embry. Claire and Annie grabbed my hands. Zoe started saying things to him in rapid fire and Embry looked like he was struggling to keep up. We couldn't hear what they were saying, so we moved closer, but kept out distance at the same time.

"-And then they started talking about imprints and their bodies being on_ fire _or something!" she said throwing her arms up in the air. "Tell me that they're not serious, Em."

He looked down at the ground and scuffed his sneaker on it a few times. "I wish I could."

Zoe stopped. "You mean, they were telling the truth." Embry was silent. "This can't be happening. Werewolves aren't real. Vampires aren't real. _Half-bloods _aren't real. They're in story books and urban legends… They don't exist. This must me some hilarious joke."

"Honestly, it would be so much easier if it were a joke, Zoe, really." His voice walk calm and soothing. I could tell he was having trouble keeping it that way. She pointed at us like she was going to say something, but Embry continued. "I've wanted to tell you for the longest time. Ever since I first saw you in the Coffee Bean with your hair all messed up from working so much. It was love at first sight that can never be torn. That's what imprinting is, Zoe. It's a werewolf finding his soul mate."

Zoe's chin started to shake. "That's what _I _am. I'm a werewolf. I can change into a giant dog and I smell bad to the vampires, which are real, too. Everything that the girls said is true. I wish I told you, and I regret that I didn't before I brought you here. I didn't think you could handle it."

"This can't be happening," she whispered, a single tear falling from her eye.

"It is… I love you, Zoe. Have since the moment you got my complicated coffee order correct on the first try and there is nothing that I can do to break it. I wouldn't want to, though, because you are perfect in every single way anyone could ever imagine. I love you with all my heart and I would do anything for you."

She was full on crying now and Embry stepped closer to her. He put a hand on her shoulder but she yelped quietly. He drew his hand back like he was afraid he'd broken her. Zoe covered her face with her hands and sobbed into her palms. Embry tried to wrap his arms around her for a hug, but she pulled away from him and sat down on the patio bench. He sat down next to her. I thought he was going to cry to. When he tried again and wrapped his arms around her protectively, this time, she didn't pull away and instead, she collapsed into him.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I should have told you, I know. I can't express to you how difficult it is to do this because I would never want to hurt you, or make you cry. I should be the one wiping away those tears, not creating them."

The three of us held out breath and I'm sure that if the vampires behind us could breathe, they would have done the same thing.

"Zoe?" She warily lifted her head and looked at him. "I'm so sorry." Tears fell from her eyes again. "But, I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you." He placed delicate kisses all over her face. "I love you."

He went in for a kiss on the lips. Zoe stood up and looked at him. "Em, I- I need some time to think about this," she said, letting go of his hand, which she had been holding. "Just to take in everything. None of this seems real to me…"

"But, Zoe, it is-"

"It is real, I know," she said, interrupting him. "Just give me some time."

Then, she turned from him and ran back into the house. The entire party watched as she scurried up the stairs and a door shut. I wondered where she went. Embry let out a sigh and rested his elbows on his knees before letting his head fall. I felt a drop in my gut.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," I said, letting go of Annie and Claire's hands. "Don't try to go talk to Zoe. Just leave her alone. I'm gonna talk with Embry."

They nodded and allowed me to go out onto the patio as the party began to start back up inside. I sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry this happened the way it did," I whispered, sitting so close to him our arms were touching.

Embry rubbed his face and let out another sigh. "It's okay. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. That's why I put it off for so long." I bit my lip. "That was definitely the wrong decision."

"But, it still shouldn't have been us telling her, it should have been you."

"You didn't know she had no idea. I should have said something to you guys. Don't blame yourselves. All of this is my fault." I wrapped my arm around his and rested my head on his shoulder. "I just sincerely hope she can accept all of this. It would kill me to know that I hurt her forever."

"She'll be okay."

"Yeah…" he said in disbelief. "Hopefully."

**Shit son. Mind reviewing? I missed all of you guys the last time I updated. You seem to have all disappeared. Let me know what you think! Outfits will be on my website later today, since it's 3:00 in the morning and I need to go to bed! :)**

**REVIEW! **


	25. Chapter 43

**Well, a quick update we're having here, aren't we? Yes, we are! I hope you all like this chapter! :) Profanity and fluff. Beware.**

Chapter Forty-Three: 'Screw Purity Rings…'

When I went to bed that night after the tiring party of old relatives, new friend of my family and werewolves, I found Zoe asleep in my bed. Even though her eyes were closed, I could tell she had been crying for a long time. The skin around her eyes were puffy and her nose was still an astonishing shade of red. Her hair was mussed up as her side bangs stuck to her forehead.

I tucked a fuzzy blanket over her, carefully took off as many of her accessories as I could, as well as her shoes, without waking her up before turning off the light and shut the door quietly behind me as I walked out. I made sure that before I shut the door behind me, I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt to change into later.

With the clothes under my hand, I walked back down stairs to where my family was putting the TV room back to the way it was. "Hey, have you seen Jacob?" I asked them, bouncing slightly on the balls of my feet.

"In his house," Emmett said, throwing red Solo cups at rapid fire in Jasper's direction. I saw my uncle was at the other end of the room holding a black trash bag open as he caught the cups. "Said he was going to watch a football game if any of us wanted to join him."

"Right."

I very nearly dashed from the house. I hadn't seen Jacob much that night and I missed hearing his voice. I missed feeling the touch of his lips against mine, and for some reason, tonight I wanted more that just the touch of his lips. I'd been kept hidden for so long by my parents from the one person I could have ten thousand times over, just because I knew that we had a bond very few other people did.

And, tonight, I wasn't going to be hidden anymore.

I bounded up the front stairs to Jacob's house and knocked on the door twice. His voice from inside called, "Come in," so I pushed the door open and shut it quietly behind me. "Oh, hey, you," he said as I walked into the TV room, placing my clothes on the coffee table.

"Hi," I said, sitting down next to him on the couch. "I missed you tonight."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the side of my temple. "I missed you, too. I was surrounded by too many people that smelled like overly powerful perfume. I needed the smell of a perfect summer night from the sexiest little minx I know."

I grinned and tilted my chin up to softly kiss his neck. "Jacob?" He looked down at me with a sift smile. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything at all, Nessa."

As I sat up, I turned to face him. My hands took his. "Do… You ever think about it?"

Jacob flicked his head to move his hair from his eyes. "Think about what?"

"Think about… Like, you and me… Doing things like-"

"Sex?" he said blatantly, grinning when I rolled my eyes. "You can say it, Renesmee. It's not like it's a swear word or anything. It's not even a forbidden word." I stayed silent, waiting for him to answer my question.

"Of course I think about it…" he uttered in a voice that was so low and sexy, I swear, just hearing it over and over again could make every single molecule in my body contract. "I think about it all the time." My eyebrows rose slightly. "I mean, I'm a guy, of course I think about it, but with you, it's different, I guess."

"Different?"

"Yeah, different. I've had a respect for you that no one can ever measure. I love you so much that everything in the entire world couldn't express for I feel about you. And I've wanted to be able to hold you in my arms, just hold you, since you were a baby, but ever since that day after school, Jesus, Renesmee, I've been thinking about you in all kinds of unspoken ways for almost every second of the day."

My hand traveled from his palm to his neck, tracing small, delicate circles with the tip of my finger. "Oh, you have?"

He swallowed. "Um, uh, yeah," he stammered. "Why, have you thought of me that way?"

"Ever since I learned what it was." Jacob grinned and turned toward me. "I… Love you so much and I want to be able to love you in every possible way, not just like in the PG-13 chick flick version."

"Well… What happens in the PG-13 hick flick version of tonight, exactly?" he said, swallowing again.

I inched close to him. "We kiss, then we talk about our lives, then we make out and fall asleep on the couch in each other's arms," I said, moving closer to him with each word until our lips were almost touching.

"And in the non-PG-13 chick flick version?"

I didn't need to say anything. Instead, I just grinned and pressed my lips to his, my hands cupping his jaw. Jacob's lips parted mine as his tongue grazed across my bottom lip before sucking it between his own lips. He deepened the kiss, pulling me onto his lap so I was straddling his legs. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me down. Our chests were pressed against each other. Jacob's breath was already picking up.

My hands ran through his hair as his tongue slid between my lips and pressed against mine. A moan bubbled up in my throat when his hands found their way to the zipper of my dress. Very slowly, they moved until the zipper was all the way down. Jacob pushed the deep green fabric off my shoulders, his fingers trailing softly down my arms. I undid the buttons to his shirt and did the same.

"Jacob?" I gasped when his lips moved down to my pulse. He moaned into my neck. "Do you think we can… Move this upstairs?"

He stopped and looked at me breathlessly. "Sure, yeah…" I kissed him again. "That is if you're sure you want to do this. That you're ready?"

"Yeah." My lips pressed against his slowly and passionately. "I'm ready."

Jacob didn't need any more convincing. With a smile in his eye, he stood up and my dress fell completely to the ground. I was now standing in his living room in just my underclothes and red high heels. His eyes raked over my body. Jacob grinned hungrily and scooped me up bridal style before carrying me upstairs. I kissed him the entire way up, my lips kissing all of his face and neck in a way that made a growl rise in his throat.

Jacob let my legs go when we reached the top of the stairs and he pushed me against the wall outside his bedroom. He tangled his fingers in my hair and my arms wrapped around his neck.

"Ready?"

I nodded and jumped up to wrap my legs around his waist. "Ready."

"Good, because I couldn't wait any longer. I need you. Right now."

"You've got me, Jacob. You always have and you always will. I love you. I want to show you that love."

And with that, I slid off my purity ring that Dad had given me a month ago and said, "Screw purity rings," just as I dropped it on the floor outside his bedroom door before Jacob slammed it shut behind us.  
~*~

Later that day when it was nearing 12:00, I lay in Jacob's bed, my head on his chest and his arms wrapped around me. I could hear his heartbeat in my ear as my head rose up and down with his breathing. Lying there, in his arms, I had never felt more a peace and more at home that I did in that moment.

I wished I could lie in his arms forever. His fingers started running through my hair softly and a smile formed on my lips.

"Hey," I whispered, looking up at him. His eyes flashed down to mine. "Are you hungry?"

Jacob smiled at me. "Am I ever not hungry?"

With a grim, I sat up and grabbed his button down shirt from the floor, slipping it on as well as my underwear. "I'll go make you something." Turning around, I pressed my lips to his cheekbone. "What do you want?"

He tucked his hands behind his head with a content sigh. "Breakfast."

"Now, breakfast I can do. It may take a while."

Jacob lifted his head up slightly to kiss me on the lips. "Take all the time you need. I'll be here, Nessa." I climbed out of the bed and made my way to his door. "I always will be!" I heard him call as I bouncing down the stairs.

In about thirty minutes, I had whipped up some bacon, pancakes and scrambled eggs. Loading it all onto a tray, I filled two glasses with orange juice and headed back up stairs. Jacob had fallen asleep in the time it took me to make the food, so I placed the tray on his night table and sat down next to him.

"Hey… Sleepy-head," I said, nuzzling his hair and kissing the back of his neck. "Wake up." Jacob moaned and rolled over. "I made you some food."

He looked up at me and smiled. "Forget the food for a minute. Come here."

Jacob pulled me down to him, tangling his fingers in my hair and bringing my lips to his. Within a few seconds, Jacob had flipped us over so his was lying on top of me. His chest was pressed heavily against mine. My hands tangled in his own hair before moving to his shoulders and pulling him down on me even more. I felt his fingers start to undo the buttons to his shirt. I wiggled out of it easily and he threw it onto the floor.

He grabbed behind my knee and pulled it up to hook it around his hip. I did the same with my other leg and locked my feet around each other. Jacob grinded his hips against mine and I pressed my head back into the pillow with a gasp. His mouth found the sensitive spot on my neck and he nipped at it gently before his lips sucked softly on my skin. My nails dragged against his bare back. Jacob growled into my neck and pressed his hips even harder to mine. I was groaning out loud from the pressure that was sending me into shivers.

There was the slam of a door and someone called out my name. "Nessie?" Suddenly, Emmett was in Jacob's door way. "Whoa, holy shit!" He slapped his hand over his eyes as I let out a terrified shriek. "I am _so _sorry… Holy crap."

I slid out from under Jacob and buried myself in Jacob's blankets. "Emmett!" I said in a voice that was more than mortified. "What are you doing in here!"

"I'm sorry!" he said back, peeking at us the same time I peeked at him. Jacob was casually lying on the bed as if nothing had happened, only a small portion of the bed sheet covering what needed to be covered. "I didn't know that you guys were, like… Doing, um, stuff." I clutched the blankets to my chest. "Sorry! I'll get you some clothes or something… I saw some on the coffee table."

Emmett disappeared and I smacked my hands to my face as I emerged from the sheets. "Oh, my God… I'm so embarrassed. He's going to tell my dad and I'm going to get in huge trouble."

Next to me, Jacob started laughing. "You really need to stop worrying about so many things, Nessa."

I was about to speak when Emmett came back in holding the clothes I had brought in before. "Here… Get dressed, then come to the house. Kyle is on the phone for you."

He was gone again and I flung myself down on the pillow. "Great. Kyle's on the phone."

I started getting dressed, shoving my legs into the sweatpants and slipping the t-shirt over my head. Jacob grabbed my hand and ran his thumbs over my knuckles a few times. We didn't say anything to each other, he just smiled at me. He didn't need to say anything.

With a quick kiss on his lips, I walked out of his room and gathered up my clothes on the way. Emmett was waiting for me by the front door. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his head down as he leaned against the wall. I quickly snatched up my dress from the living room and stood in front of my uncle.

"Emmett…"

He kept his eyes on the floor. "I'm not going to tell your dad about this, Renesmee," he said to his feet, "and I want you to know that I'm going to keep this a secret because I respect you and your privacy."

I let out a sigh of immense relief. "Oh, my god, Emmett, thank you. I-"

"Don't say anything, Nessie. I joke around with you a lot, but I love you. This stuff is important, right? It's important to you?" I nodded, biting my lip. "Okay, then, I'll treat it like it's important."

I smiled and he looked up at me, smiling as well. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He threw his arm around my shoulders. "Now, come on, your other boyfriend is waiting on the line."  
~*~

"Hello?" I said when I reached my room after snatching the house phone from my father's hands.

"Nessie, it's me, Kyle."

I threw all my clothes and accessories into my closet. "Yeah, I know. What's going on? I haven't heard from you in a while… Not since prom."

I heard him laugh and I sat down on my bed. "I know, and I'm still sorry about that…"

"Don't worry about it, really. I had a good time anyway." I smiled to myself. "So, what's up?"

"Well, Lyla just got over having the flu. The doctor said it was mono, but toddlers don't get mono, do they?" I laughed a few times. "Unless she went around kissing every boy in her kindergarten class, which is actually a very high possibility."

"Little kids these days," I said, picking at my French pedicure that had managed to stay on my toes from prom.

Kyle cleared his throat. "Anyway… You said you wanted to talk after prom. I'm free to talk whenever, babe."

I cringed at the word 'babe'. I hated that word. I felt way to crude and sexual for me, especially since he was the one calling me that. "Um… How about tonight?"

"That's great. I know this great place where we can go and have dinner. We can talk."

"No, Kyle, I really think that we should just talk and-"

He laughed once. "Don't 'No, Kyle' me. Come on. Get dressed up nice and fancy, this place is _really _nice."

"But, Kyle, I-"

"I'll pick you up at six o'clock, okay?"

"Kyle!"

"Bye, babe!"

Then, the phone line went dead. I looked at the phone as if doing that was going to bring him back on the line. "I hate it when people don't listen to me." There was a knock on my door. "Come in."

The door opened and Zoe cautiously popped her head in. "Hi," she said quietly, hiding half behind the door.

"Hey," I said, instantly cheering up form the conversation I had with Kyle. "How are you? Are… are you okay?"

She came out from behind the entire door and shut it behind her. "Yeah, yeah, I am okay." I looked at her for her to continue. "I talked to Embry… He explained everything to me. In detail. Showed me what he could do, told me about you and your family. And stuff."

I moved on my bed and patted the spot next to me. She sat down, crossing her legs like a first grader. "What do you think about all that?"

"It's really weird…"

"It's storybook?"

Zoe nodded, pushing her hair out of her face. "I guess… But, I understand everything. I guess this is my life now, right?" I smiled at her. "And, um, Embry asked me out on a date… A date in a few hours… He said 'Dinner and a show' or something like that."

I grinned. "He's taking you to dinner and a show?" Zoe bit her lip. "I have my money set on a play and dinner at _The Rise_."

"I don't really know what that means…" I shrugged and decided to let her find out for herself. "Anyway… He said we were leaving in a few hours. Around five o'clock or something."

I looked at the clock on the wall. "Well, you've got some time, Zoe. It's only one o'clock."

Zoe fiddled with her fingers for a moment, and looked at the floor. "_Actually_, I was hoping that, um, maybe you could…" One of my eyebrows arched. "I've never been on a date before… I'm nineteen, I've never been on a date, but I have been in love with someone—I _am _in love with someone—and I don't want to mess it up… I need your help."

A frowned formed on my face. "Well, Zoe, you do know that I'm only thirteen, right?"

"I know, I know… Embry told me. But, you've been through this, haven't you? First date with Jacob, first person you ever loved, you know? The only stuff I know about dating is what I've seen in movies, and even then I haven't seen that much of it. I read books by Jane Austen and Tolstoy, for Christ's sake…"

"Okay, okay, calm down… I didn't say that I wouldn't help you. Don't worry, I will. I'll help you with anything you need; advice, clothes, make-up, hair, the whole thing." Zoe smiled and relaxed slightly. "Here, we can have some lunch or something, then you can ask your questions, okay?" She nodded. "Don't worry about this, okay?"

I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a soft hug. "You'll be fine."  
~*~

"Are you ready?"

"No!"

"Don't be nervous." I looked at Zoe and placed my hands on her hips. "You're going to be okay. Just be yourself, seriously. He already loves you and there's nothing he can do about it. You could be covered in shit and he'd still want to kiss you."

"Great, that makes me feel loads better."

"Really?"

"No!"

Zoe and I were standing at the top of the stairs. She was dressed in a red dress of mine, black, silver and gold high heels with an assortment of jewelry that matched. She was nearly wringing a gold clutch in her hand. I'd curled her long, blond hair and styled her bangs so they were swept to the side with a headband holding the rest of her hair. Her lips were glossy and her eyes sparkled with gold eye shadow.

"Okay, I'm gonna go down stairs. Come down when I call you."

She nodded and took a few deep breaths as I slid down the railing into the living room. Embry was pacing back and forth in khaki pants, a sports jacket and a tie. When I landed on the floor, he looked up at me with an expectant look as if he had been waiting for days.

"Is she ready yet?"

I stood by the stairs and smiled. "Embry Call, may I present to you, your date for tonight, Zoe Swift."

As I held up my arms like a show case model, Zoe came down the stairs, her free hand gliding down the railing. She was smiling softly and she pushed her hair out of her face. She stopped half-way down the stairs as everyone in the living room stared at her.

"Whoa," Embry said, breathless.

Zoe smiled again and bit her lip. I cleared my throat and her eyes flashed to mine so I shook my head subtly and she let her lip go. "How do I look?" she said, rubbing her lips together once.

"You look stunning, Zoe," Esme said as she wiped her hands with a dishtowel.

Her smiled grew even larger, which seemed almost impossible, and she continued down the stairs. Just before she reached the bottom, she tripped over nothing and nearly fell to the floor, but Jasper, who had been at the other end of the room near the fireplace, ran across the room to the bottom of the stairs. She let out a yelp but he caught her and help her stand up straight.

"Careful there, love," he chuckled with a slight southern twang that I was glad I could still hear.

"Thanks," Zoe laughed back, fixing her hair as Jasper touched her shoulder lightly before stepping away.

She adjusted her dress and walked over to Embry, taking his hand. "You look beautiful." Zoe squeezing his hand once. "Are you ready to go?"

She looked over her shoulder at me and I gave her a thumbs up before Zoe looked back to Embry. "More than ready."

"Let's go."

The two of them started to walk toward the door, but before they got halfway across, Zoe tripped again. Embry caught her and her cheeks flushed a bright red color that matched her dress.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She cleared her throat. "I'm terrible in heels."

The two of them laughed and then Embry wrapped his arm around her for support, but I saw that he pulled her as closely to him as possible. They made it out of the house safely and I waited until I heard the sound of his car disappear before heading back upstairs.

"Nessie, honey, dinner is in an hour," Esme said, folding the dishtowel before resting it on her shoulder.

"Actually," I said, turning around and leaning against the railing, "I'm going out for dinner tonight."

Dad, who I hadn't noticed on the couch, sat up to look at me. "With Jacob?"

"Huh?" Jacob had just walked in from his house in just a pair of sweatpants. I licked my lips hungrily. He smirked at me before saying, "Are we going out tonight, Nessa?"

"Um… No. Kyle and I-" He instantly frowned and I cleared my throat. "I'm going to talk to him about how it's, um, not going to work out."

Dad nodded and took Mom's hand. "Well, good luck."

I just nodded and continued up the stairs. I could Jacob coming up the stairs after me. I didn't say anything to him until we reached my room. He shut the door behind us and I went straight for my closet. Jacob stood in the doorway that connected my closet and room as I went through the rack of dresses, selecting a one-shouldered black dress.

"I'm not very comfortable with this, Nessa," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

After selecting a pair of black heels, I put them on the couch and stood in front of my dresser to search for some jewelry. "I'm going out to dinner with him to explain to him that I can't be with him. That doesn't change anything that we have, okay?"

Jacob walked up and stood behind me, his hands on my hips. "I know but I don't see why this has to be done over dinner where you dress up and do your hair and make-up as if it were a date, because that's what it seems like to me."

"It's not a date. I tried to make it something simple where we just meet at, like, his house or something, but he wouldn't listen to me."

"Jerk."

I laughed and turned around after I had selected a necklace with a heart charm and a bracelet. "Hey, be nice. He's not a jerk, he's just not you." I kissed him quickly. "I have to take a shower."

I headed toward my bathroom and heard him mumble, "Damn woman trying to kill me with her teasing and seducing."

I turned on the hot water and turned toward Jacob. He reached forward and slowly pulled my t-shirt over my head. "Now we're both topless," he said with a smirk before he pulled me to him and pressed his lips to my neck.

"Jacob," I said, my fingers running through his hair, "I love you, really, I do, but I'm under a time limit. I've got to be ready in an hour."

He sighed into my neck but pulled away, allowing me to undress and climb under the steaming flow of water. "Fine, fine, be a party pooper, whatever. I'll just wait here."

He didn't wait, though. Within seconds, he was rolling back the glass door to my shower and climbing in with a grin on his face that made me smile every time. "I thought I said I was under a time limit."

"You're killing my buzz, Nessie."

"Yeah, yeah… Whatever."

Jacob stuck his tongue out at me but I just smiled and tangled my fingers in his hair before pressing my lips to his and pulling him under the flow of water with me.  
~*~

It took forty-five minutes for me and Jacob to get out of the shower, leaving me rushed to get ready. I was glad I had chosen my clothes before hand. While my hair was wrapped in a towel, I got dressed and did my make up, blow-drying my hair as quickly as I could.

At precisely 6:00, I was waiting in the TV room watching at football game recorded from the night before with my uncles as I waited for Kyle to show up. My phone started buzzing in my clutch just as the Chicago football team was about to score the winning touchdown.

"Hello?"

"Nessie, it's me."

I walked from the TV room when Emmett glared at me. "Hey, don't tell me you're going to bail on me again…"

"It's a possibility." I groaned. "Well, this time it's because I can't find a sitter."

I leaned against the wall and frowned. "You can't find a sitter."

"Yeah."

I saw Rosalie come bouncing down the stairs to stand behind Emmett and kiss his forehead. "I… Um, I think I have a sitter for you.

"You do?"

"Yeah, my aun- My sister, Rosalie." Kyle was silent. "She is, um, responsible and nice and really does know how to take care of kids. I think she used to babysit or something."

Kyle laughed once. "Wow, um, okay, sure. Send her over."

"Do you want me to go with her so we can just go from your house, or…?"

"Naw, that's okay. It would be a slight inconvenience. The restaurant is in the opposite direction. We would end up just driving back past your house."

I nodded and smiled. "Okay, then I'll send her over and see you in a little bit?"

"Yeah, okay, bye!"

I could hear Lyla shrieking on the other end before I hung up the phone and I put it back in my bag.

"Hey, Rosalie, I need you to do me a favor," I said as I walked back into the TV room.

"Yeah, what's up, child?"

"Do you think you could-"

"Ladies," Emmett said, pausing the game and turning around to face us, "I love you both, truly and honestly love you both. But, you are disturbing the football game. Could you please, _please_ keep it down or move it to another room."

Rosalie smiled and kissed him quickly. "Sure, baby, we'll keep it down." Emmett nodded and turned back to the TV. "So, Nessie, what did you need help with!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, making me jump slightly.

"I need help with Kyle!" I screamed back, smiling when she winked at me. "He needs a babysitter for Lyla!"

Rosalie screamed for real and looked like she was going to explode. "What! Lyla! The adorable little girl? You're kidding me!"

"I'm really not! Kyle couldn't find a babysitter. I need you to cover for me. Can you do that?"

"Of _course _I can do that! Are you kidding me! I would love to do that!"

"You would?"

"_Ladies!_"

"Shut up, Emmett." Rosalie squealed and hugged me. "This is fabulous. I will, I definitely will. Oh, my God! Nessie, this is great. Ah! Okay, um, let me get changed and I'll leave right away. Emmett!" My uncle looked up angrily. "Get dressed. You're coming babysitting with me."

He groaned, but he didn't dare argue. The two of them ran upstairs to get changed. Rosalie came down wearing skinny jeans, silver flats and a black and white top with one long sleeve and one short sleeve. Emmett just had on a different pair of jeans and a new t-shirt. She hugged me again before grabbing Emmett's hand and running out the door.

Jacob walked into the TV room then, from the kitchen, holding a plate of leftovers in one hand and a glass of sparkling apple cider in the other. "Rosalie is babysitting Kyle's little sister?" I nodded, taking a bite of his green bean casserole before kissing his cheek. "That's a brilliant idea. She's gonna get attached to that little girl. I've seen her. She's pretty damn cute."

"Yeah, she is."

He rolled his eyes. Twenty minutes later, the two of us were outside on the porch, sitting on the bench swing and rocking back and forth. We were laughing about nothing, having small talk like we were strangers who had just met.

"Can I ask you a question, Jake?" He nodded and took my hand. "You liked Kyle in the beginning of the school year… I remember, you talked about him a lot. What changed?"

"Jealously." I laughed once. I should have known. "When I saw you two here on the front porch, I snapped. I don't even have to know what's going on, I'll always get pissed off. I get jealous when you hug _Emmett _for Christ's sake. But, when I saw you here, with Kyle, I flipped out because I knew he wasn't a relative. He's someone who would make a pass at you, and he did on several occasions… Need I say more?"

I shook my head and leaned over to kiss Jacob but stopped when I saw lights flashing on the trees. I knew Kyle was here. A car door slammed and Kyle came marching up to the porch. "Hey, babe." I cringed again, but forced out a smile. "Long time, no see."

"Yeah, hey, Kyle, I-"

I wasn't able to finish my sentence before Kyle grabbed the side of my face and kissed me. I froze for a moment but responded for a split second then pulled away. I didn't even have to look to know that Jacob was fuming in his spot. Kyle kissed me again before turning to face Jacob. I was right. His lips were pressed into a hard line and his eyes were wide with anger.

"Hey, Jacob, how you doing?" Kyle said in a smug voice that for some reason didn't sound like him at all. "You look good."

Jacob just grunted something non-coherent and crossed his arms over his chest. Kyle turned to me. "Ready to go?"

I nodded and yelped when he smacked my behind roughly. "Whoa, hey," Jacob suddenly said, standing up from his seat. "Show a little respect, huh?"

"Don't tell me how to treat my girlfriend, Jacob."

"Don't make it so I _have _to tell you how to treat your 'girlfriend'," he snapped back, using finger quotations.

Kyle narrowed his eyes at Jacob. Something was definitely off. Kyle was acting like someone who had a stick up their ass but was also the world biggest jerk. I had ever seen him like this before. Before I knew it, Jacob pushed him off the porch so he stumbled backwards onto the driveway, catching himself just before he was about to fall over.

"Hey, man, you wanna go?" he said, holding his arms up by his sides as he threateningly took a few steps toward Jacob.

"What are you, a gangster? Take the stick out of your ass and act your age." Kyle pushed Jacob in the chest once. "You really wanna do that? You want to get into this with me, dude? I'll _crush_ you."

Kyle pushed Jacob again. From my spot on the porch, I could see Jacob was shaking. "Guys, this is stupid," I said, walking down the steps and between the two of them. I placed a hand on each other their chests. "Stop it. Now."

"Nessie, this doesn't involve you. Get out of the way," Kyle said, trying to move me out of the way.

I held fast. "This does involve me. You're fighting about me, so it involves me, alright?" They both glared at each other. "You're not yourself tonight, Kyle. What the wrong with you?"

"Nothing at all, just this son of a bitch trying to tell me how to treat my girl."

"She's not _your _girl, you god damn jackass!" Jacob said so loudly I was surprised my family didn't come outside.

I could feel Jacob shaking even more under my palm and I pushed Kyle away slightly and turned to him. "Jacob? Jacob, sweetie, you need to calm down."

"_Sweetie_?" Kyle said from behind me. "You're calling him _sweetie_? What the hell for?"

"Shut up!" I turned back to Jake. "Jacob…" He looked down at me and his eyes were dark and angry. "Come on, Jacob, look at me. It's just me, Nessie." I put my hands on the sides of his face and gave him a soft smile. "Just you, just me, nothing else in the world but us."

I felt Kyle come up behind us. "Nessie, would you care to tell me why you're talking to this retard like you're in love with him? Come on, we have to go. We're going to miss our reservation." He grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the car. "Leave the piece of shit behind, he doesn't matter."

My eyes were still locked with Jacob's and when Kyle said that, I swear, Jacob had gone from the calm I had gotten him to be to nearly insane in the span of a millisecond. "Watch who you're calling a piece of shit, Kyle!" he shouted before storming toward us and pulling me away. "Cause I can tell you now, no one is more of a piece of shit right now than you are!"

I stumbled back and stabilized myself as Jacob started pushing Kyle around. "You come here, act like a big shot, then you act like a _dick_, especially to Nessie, who doesn't deserve anything less than the entire world! I have _never _seen anyone treat a woman like that, especially when they are claiming that woman is _their girl_!"

"Nessie is my girl! I'll treat her any way I want!"

And with then, Kyle grabbed my waist and smashed his lips to mine in the most uncomfortable way ever. I pushed against him but wasn't able to get him away. I tried again, and thought I had succeeded until I saw the two boys pushing against each other roughly. I'd known Jacob for long enough to know that one more push from Kyle and he was going to explode, literally. I ran over to them and grabbed Jacob's arms from behind, doing the best I could to hold him away from Kyle. I was strong enough to do it, usually, but today, I felt weak against him. Still, I held fast.

"Fucking coward," Jacob growled to Kyle.

There was a split second of silence before Kyle swung his arm through the air and connected his fist with Jacob's jaw. In seconds, I was flung into the air, crashing against a tree with a loud exclamation of pain before falling to the ground. I heard the tearing of clothes and a blood-curdling growl filled the air. There was a loud howl and my entire family came running out of the house, followed by Seth and Quil. They were all crowding around Jacob and holding him back as he kept trying to lunge for Kyle, who I suddenly forgot was there as I sprang from my spot all the way across the front yard and to the driveway.

Jacob was barking and growling and thrashing at the air against my entire family, who was hissing back at him. Alice was on his back, pulling at the fur on his neck and my father, uncle and grandfather were all in front of him, pushing at his large chest while Esme and my mom were at his sides with the two boys. They were all pulling at his fur, with an occasional punch from the wolf boys. Jacob continued to growl and chop his teeth threateningly. At one point, my dad decided he'd had enough and he swung his fist back to punch Jacob so hard in the jaw, he yelped and cowered back instantly.

"Stop!" I screamed, running over to Jacob and pushing my entire family away. Jacob was whining. "Daddy, you hurt him!"

My dad was still hissing. "He wouldn't calm down, Nessie!" he said, his hands balled into fists. "It was the only way."

"You guys didn't even try to calm him down. You just pushed at him and hit him!" I said, turning to Jacob's wolf form. I reached forward to touch his fur, but he cowered away from me with a sad whine. "You probably broke his jaw."

"He'll live."

"Daddy!"

"Daddy?" We all turned to look at Kyle, who's face had drained itself to be paler than the moon. "He's daddy?"

I gasped when I realized what happened. "Kyle, stop. Let me explain."

"Who are you?" he said, nearly crying before he threw himself into his car and drove away with such speed, I almost didn't see it.

I turned back to my father, glaring at him. He was glaring back at me. "Renesmee, you are in big trouble. Do you realize what just happened? He could tell everyone! We might have to leave again!"

"This is mot my fault!" I shouted at him, throwing my hands in the air. "He came here acting like a _jerk_, and Jacob told him to do otherwise. They got in a fight, and Kyle punched Jacob. There was nothing I could do about it. I _tried _to calm Jacob down, unlike you all did!" I said, waving my arms at my family. "It didn't work. Now, Kyle is gone and Jacob is hurt because of _you_!" I pointed a threatening finger at my father.

I turned to Seth and Quil, who were standing next to each other as if this were an everyday occurrence. "What about you two?" They raised their eyebrows at me. "This is your brother, your family, and all you do is pull at his fur! You should know what to do in situations like this, for Christ's sake!"

"Nessie, we-"

"I don't want to hear it! You didn't do anything to calm him down. You just punched him."

They all fell silent. I was panting from being so angry and my eyes felt like they were on fire. One by one, my family found their way back into the house and I looked at Jacob, who was still whining on the ground. Slowly, I crept toward him, kneeling down on the ground in front of him. I reached out and softly touched my fingers to his fur. He cowered away slightly but moved closer toward me when I ran my fingers along the side of his head.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, leaning down to rest my forehead against his. "This shouldn't have happened. None of it should have."

A single tear ran down my cheek and landed on his soft fur. Soon, I was hugging his neck and sobbing into him. My fingers were still stroking his rusty coat and I heard him whine again. I looked up and he raised his big head to look me in the eye. After a while, he climbed to his feet and I did as well, my hands tangled in the fur my his eyes.

"Jacob… Please forgive me."

We were silent for a long time, but when the tears stopped, he stepped forward, closed his eyes, and pressed his forehead to mine, and I knew then that everything was going to be okay.

**Holy shit in a hand basket. PLEASE tell me what you think of this chapter because I literally spent two entire days working on it! I hope you liked it! Tell me in a review! I love you all! :) **


	26. Chapter 44

**Balls to the wall. I'm wicked sorry that it's taken me forever to update! I had typed this chapter out and for the longest time, I thought I'd uploaded it and it turns out that I didn't… Which is awkward. Sorry and enjoy! **

Chapter Forty-Four:

The Wise Words of Billy Shakespeare

Once Jake had shifted back into his normal form and had gotten some clothes from his house, the two of us retreated to my bedroom and ignored the calls from my family about apologizing. Jasper even held my arm lightly and looked at me with sad eyes but I just turned away and continued up to my room. We passed Dad on the way, coming out of his bedroom looking rather disheveled for someone who was usually always so clean and cut. I purposefully bumped into him as Jake and I entered my room.

We curled up on my bed, my laptop in front of us as we started working our way though the Harry Potter series. We finished the first movie and while Jacob was changing the disk in my laptop, I went down stairs to get us some snacks. I didn't even make it to the kitchen before I was ambushed by Mom and Alice.

"Renesmee, honey, we're sorry," Mom said, placing her hand on my shoulder.

I walked past her into the kitchen and Esme was standing there spooning sorbet into some bowls. She turned and looked at me for a moment before sticking spoons into the pink frozen dish and handing them to me. I took them without a word and turned around to bring them back upstairs, but all of a sudden, she and Carlisle were in front of me. Their brows were pushed together in a way that was so similar, it was almost like they practiced that look in the mirror together.

"What is it?" I whispered, the cold from the bowls seeping into my skin.

"We just wanted to apologize about earlier, sweetheart," Esme said, pushing my hair away from my face delicately.

I sighed quietly, biting my lip. "We were both out of line in how we dealt with Jacob. It was wrong. We're sorry."

It was hard to stay angry with my grandparents. They'd taken care of me more than my parents had when I was growing up, so I couldn't help but give them a small smile and allow them to hug me.

"It's okay," I said into Carlisle's shoulder, putting the bowls on the counter so I could hug his torso tightly. "It's not really you that I'm mad at… It's-"

"Your father, we know," Esme said, stroking my hair softly before rubbing my back a few times. "Try not to be too harsh on him, though, Renesmee. You know he loves you. He was just trying to do what was best."

Carlisle's arms slipped from around me and I picked up the dishes once again. "Hard to believe that when he socked Jacob in the jaw without a second thought."

I started walking out of the kitchen, stopping in my tracks when Dad was standing right in front of me, a hurtful frown captured on his face. For a second, he looked like he was getting a worry wrinkle, but then I remembered he didn't age so instead, I just stepped around him and continued upstairs where Jacob was waiting, his hands tucked behind his head and his eyes closed.

"I brought sorbet," I said, settling back down in my spot and pressing myself against his warm body. He looked down at me with a smile and I looked up at him, mimicking his action before I gasped. "Oh, my God." I put the bowls down on the night table and carefully turned his face away from me. "You've got a bruise on the side of your face," I said, touching my fingers to his jaw ever so slightly. He winced at what was barely even touching him. "Does that hurt?"

He shook his head. "Oh, this little thing?" He pointed to the nearly black bruise that was capturing his usually extremely sexy and angular jaw. It looked slightly swollen. "Naw. This is nothing."

With one eyebrow raised, I pressed my fingers a little harder into his purpling skin. "Gah," he breathed out. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph." Jacob stared at me with a frown. "That hurt."

"I barely touched you." I took his arm when gave me a skeptical look and softly pressed my fingers into his skin. "That's how much I touched you."

"Oh…" He looked at his arm, than wrapped it around me. "Well, then, just try and not touch it."

I fit myself into his side, resting my head on Jacob's chest. We began the second movie in the series, looking at each other every once and a while. We didn't watch the third one so much as let it play while we were otherwise occupied. It was hard to be otherwise occupied, though, when your partner has a touch sensitive jaw. We were half way through the fourth movie when Jacob looked at me and said, "You know, Cedric Diggory looks like your dad…"

I snorted. "Yeah, and you're the love child of Lupin and Sacagawea."

"Hey, you never know. I could have been the little baby she carried around in her backpack."

"She didn't have a backpack. It was an early world baby carrier."

At that moment, Rosalie and Emmett came bursting into my room. "Oh, my God, Nessie, you'll never believe how much… Oh… My, God!"

"You can call me Jacob."

"Your jaw," she said, her non-existent motherly instinct taking over. She rushed over to him and turned his head to look at the side of his face. Jacob winced when her fingers touched his skin, but then leaned into her palm at the cool feel of her skin. "What happened?"

I tolled my eyes. "Dad punched him in the face."

"Someone had to," Emmett commented as Rosalie took Jacob's hand at pulled him off the bed to drag him down stairs.

I heard my family exclaiming and Mom said, "Jacob, what happened?"

"Ask your husband," Jake sneered and I closed my eyes sadly.

I felt the bed move, then Emmet's arms were around me and I leaned into his chest. "What happened, Nessie," He whispered, rubbing my arms comfortingly.

"Jacob phased in front of Kyle because he was acting like a jerk."

"Jacob was being a jerk?"

"No. Kyle." I opened my eyes and fiddled with the ends of my hair. "He was acting like the literal definition of an ass. Jacob was getting so mad, like really mad, and I think it was because he stopped phasing for so long. Like something that can't be held in anymore. Anyway, Jacob was barking and howling at Kyle and when everyone came out to hold him back, he wouldn't calm down, so Dad punched him in the mouth."

Emmett nodded, but said nothing and only continued to rub my arms. Finally, he said, "I'll punch Edward for you, if you want me to."

I laughed once through my nose, pressing my face into his chest. "As much as I woud like that, Emmett…"

"Yeah, yeah, I understand. I'll just punch him because I feel like it, then."

"You do that."

I closed my eyes again, a tired sigh escaping me. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Not really. I'm really worried."

He hugged me even tighter. "It'll be okay. Don't worry unless you know you have a reason to."

"Can we change the subject?" I whispered, looking at him with sad eyes.

Emmett nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"How was babysitting."

"It was great!" Rosalie said, walking into the room with Jacob following behind her, an ice pack pressed to his jaw. "Lyle is so precious. The entire time, all she wanted to do was clime all over Emmett like a jungle gun and play dress up."

Rosalie sat down on the other side of Emmett. I patted the empty spot next to me for Jacob to sit down and soon, we were all piled onto my bed watching the fourth Harry Potter. For the next couple hours, once we'd gotten to the fifth movie, Rosalie, Emmett, Jacob, and I sat in silence, Rosalie reading the books at hyperspeed along with the movies. We watched the Hogwarts students grow and change, and I found myself thinking about Kyle, about Jake, and about my family. It was right around half way through the sixth movie when I realized I wasn't quite ready to forgive my family and I didn't think I would be for a long time.  
~*~

I had a dream that night. I was under water, kicking my legs as hard as I could, trying to swim toward the surface, but no matter how fast I went, instead of getting closer, I just got farther and farther away. I was pushing my arms and legs until they burned, my lungs filling with water as I tried my hardest to breathe.

I woke up gasping for air, wrapped in Jacob's arms with Emmett and Rosalie still on m other side. "Are you okay, Nessa?" Jake asked, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

I gave no answer. I simply mumbled something incoherent and pushed the covers away, running out of the room as they called my name. My feet thundered on the stairs. I saw Claire and Annie sitting on the couch watching reruns of a TV show that I didn't recognize before I flew around the corner, halting in front of Carlisle's office. My knuckles tapped against the polished wood a few times and I waited patiently.

"Come in, Renesmee," he called, the sound of a smile ringing in his voice when I opened the door.

Unlike most times I'd seen Carlisle in his office, he was sitting in the big leather chair I usually found myself in, a book in his hands that he read at the same speed Rosalie read the Harry Potter books. When I walked up to him, he looked up form the book, allowing me to curl up in his lap with his arms wrapped tightly around me. I rested my head on his chest, my ear pressed against the place where his heart should have been beating. When I was younger, I used to take his stethoscope and try to listen for his heart beat, hoping that maybe my family could one day be alive.

"What's wrong, pumpkin?" he said, resting his chin on my head. My arms hugged his torso, searching for comfort. "Another bad dream?"

"I was drowning," I mumbled into his soft, blue button down that smelled like fresh laundry. "I kept trying to swim to the top, but that just made me go down further until I literally couldn't breathe."

Carlisle's arms tightened around me. I felt protected and safe from the dream that was still floating around in my mind. I closed my eyes. Carlisle started speaking very quietly. I recognized his words right away. Helena's speech in _A Midsummer Night's Dream, _Act I, Scene I. "Things case and vile/ Folding no quantity/ Love can transpose to form and dignity/ Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind."

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push out the memory o the dream. Carlisle kept whispering Helena's soliloquy, until he stopped suddenly. "Renesmee?" I said nothing, only shifting slightly to let him know that I'd heard him. "Why is it that you never talk to your father?" I frowned. "Why do you come to me with your questions?"

"I feel like Edward wouldn't understand," I whispered, addressing my father by his name for the first time in my life.

"I think he'd understand more than you think, love.'

"Yeah, how?"

Carlisle tilted my chin until I was looking at him. "When we lived back in Forks, he had a love problem with your mother and Jacob."

I nodded. "I know, I know, but I just… It's different."

"I suppose so." I let out a shuddery sigh, my head falling against his chest. "Sleep, Renesmee," he whispered, continuing to whisper Helena's monologue into my ear.

I fell asleep almost instantly.  
~*~

"What is she doing? Why is she in here?"

I recognized Dad's voice when I suddenly jumped from sleep. I kept my eyes closed.

"She had a bad dream," Carlisle said, who still had one arm around me while the other once held a book he was scanning.

I heard Dad sigh. "Why didn't you come to me?"

Carlisle chuckled once. "I suppose it's because she thinks you wouldn't understand and she is still angry with most of the family, especially you." Dad groaned loudly in frustration. "You can't really blame her, Edward," Carlisle said in a calm voice. "Have you seen Jacob's jaw?"

"Yes, I saw it, but Carlisle!"

"Be quiet, son. She's asleep."

"Not anymore."

My eyes flashed open when Dad found me out and I sat up sleepily. "Good morning," Carlisle said, stroking my hair a few times.

"Is it really morning?" I croaked, my throat dry. Carlisle nodded and I climbed off his lap. "Oh," was the only thing I said before walking out of the office, deliberately avoiding my dad.

"Wait, Renesmee, I want to talk to you. I'm-"

He stopped talking when he realized I wasn't going to turn around. Jacob was sitting in the living room, eating breakfast with the girls, including Zoe, who was wearing a pair of plain jeans and a white long sleep shirt. A gray, zip-up hoodie kept her warm as she spun the tale of her night with Embry. I settled myself next to Jake, starting on the meal that had been set out for me.

"He took me out to dinner at _The Rise, _which I liked because it wasn't expensive. It was like a regular restaurant, and Embry knows more than anyone that I don't like fancy things."

Embry came in and stood silently behind her. I smiled. Zoe didn't realize he was behind her as she continued. "It was just really nice. He was so sweet and caring… He was polite."

"Do you like him?" Claire asked, grinning when Embry chuckled silently.

"Looking past the fact that we were meant to be soul mates…" Zoe blushed. "Yes, I do. I fell in love when him when all he did was hold my hand because he didn't want me to feel uncomfortable."

He then put his hands on her shoulders and bent down to press his lips softly to her cheek. "I love you, too, Zoe."

Her cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of pink when he held his hand out to her and the two of them walked from the room. I turned to Jacob. His jaw had turned from purple to an ugly shade of green and blue thanks to his fast heeling.

It doesn't hurt anymore," he said when he caught me staring.

"It doesn't?"

He shook his head once. "Naw. Rosalie just told me to keep the ice pack on it and soon, it would get better."

"Since when did you two become friends?"

Jacob looked to the ceiling with a thoughtful expression on his face. "We bonded over the break up." My eyebrow arched. "When you were holing yourself up in your room, Rosalie and I talked. It started with her yelling, really, but after a couple of visits, we learned that the two of us get along really well."

I sipped at my juice. "Oh, well… Oh." He chuckled at my loss for words. "It's weird to think about; you and Rosalie being friends… because of me."

Jacob reached over and took my hand when Dad passed through the dining room. I looked away, feeling his eyes burning into the side of my face as I focused all of my attention of Jacob.

"Hey, why not you and me spend the day together?" Jacob asked me, pushing my hair out of my face. "We can go out, see a movie, have some lunch. We can even go shopping if you want."

I smiled at him softly. "Yeah, that sounds awesome. I'll go get dressed."

He cupped my jaw in his hands, resting his nose against mine. "I love you, Nessa."

"I love you, too," I said, tilting my chin forward and pressing my lips to his with a smile.  
~*~

A few days passed by. Three, to be exact, and I was currently wearing out of the outfits I'd gotten when Jacob and I went shopping when my phone started ringing loudly on my nightstand. I snatched it up and looked at the name on the screen.

_Kyle_.

"Holy shit," I said to myself, feeling my heartbeat pick up as I pressed the green phone button and slipped the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Do you know where the Lincoln Park Conservatory is?"

"Yes."

"Meet me there in an hour. In the green house."

Then, he was gone. Just like that, as if I didn't have an option in the matter. I hung up the phone, slipping it into the pocket of my skinny jeans before standing up. I adjusted my t-shirt that had a burst of flowers and blue on it before tying the laces to my shoes and trotting down stairs. I snatched my car keys from the little hooks by the door and headed to the garage where Emmett was holding up the side of Rosalie's car while she and Jacob were under it, cranking wrenches and talking about where the real problem was.

"Where are you going?" Emmett said, switching hands so he could face me.

"Lincoln Park Conservatory," I said, using the automatic lock on my car. "Kyle just called me and wants to meet there."

Jacob shot out from underneath the BMW to look at me. "What? He did? Do you want me to go with you?"

"No! That's a bad idea… I think I should just go alone."

"What if he does something?"

I rolled my eyes. "That's nice of you to be concerned, but what's the worst he could do? We're meeting in a public place and I'm stronger than him. I can handle myself, but thank you," I said, walking around my car to kiss him quickly before climbing into the Mustang and pulling out of the driveway.

I tapped my fingers nervously on the steering wheel the entire car ride there. My phone rang a couple times. I only picked up when Carlisle called. He was the last one to do so and I knew that when my phone stopped ringing that he'd passed along the message to the rest of my family. A sign on the highway whizzed past me saying that the park was only a few minutes away.

I let out a nervous sigh and pulled off the exit, weaving through cars who didn't seem to notice me before pulling into the parking lot and parking in an open spot. I climbed out and looked around the landscape nervously. My eyes landed on the greenhouse and I could see Kyle standing inside by a brilliant pink flower.

My hands started shaking. Slowly, I started walking across the parking lot and to where he was standing, spinning his car key around on his finger. I stopped in front of him and he looked up from his shoes to stare at me. I stared back, my hands trembling by my sides.

"Hi," he said after too long of a period of silence.

"Hi," I said back, biting my lip.

He let out a short sigh, running his fingers through his honey blond hair.

"Nessie… We need to talk."

** Okay, so I hope you liked this chapter. I know it was short, but whatever. REVIEW! **


	27. Chapter 45

**Okay… Here we go… I'm scared, you guys. I'm really nervous about posting this. And I'll probably be nervous to post the other one, too.**

**For twiwulf **

Chapter Forty-Five:

'What are you' is worse than 'We need to talk'

Kyle and I stood in the greenhouse at the park, staring at each other without saying a word. I chewed on my lip nervously and at one point, I think I tasted a pool of irony blood between my teeth. His eyes were different that day. Instead of the usual bright blue, they were black, but not like the rest of my family. Dark because of the way he was looking at me and it made a queasy feeling bubble up in my stomach as my heart was beating uncomfortably in my chest.

I felt like I was losing the ability to breathe, like my dream when I was drowning.

"So," he said after a while, making me jump in surprise that he spoke. "Your boyfriend's a dog?"

"Werewolf," I said quietly, reaching behind me to fiddle with the ends of my hair.

"And your family are descendants of the Hulk?"

"Let me explain, Kyle."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, that'd be nice, Nessie," he snapped, making me shrink back into the dead flowers behind me.

I sat down on the table, surrounded by the corpses of roses that I assumed had once smelled wonderful that were now blackened and shriveled. "I'm going to give it to you straight, though…"

"Don't sugar coat it," he said, narrowing his eyes at me and adjusting his feet once.

"My family, my aunts and uncles, grandparents, and my own parents are vampires." He nodded his head once. "My mom was human when she had me, and then turned into a vampire because I was killing her."

He tapped his fingers on his lips a few times. "Okay, then, what are you, Nessie? _What _are you?"

Those words hit me hard. He said 'What' like I was some kind of animal, which I'm sure he thought we were, but no one had ever referred to us as animals. At least, not openly.

"I'm half human, half vampire." His eyebrow shot up almost to his hairline. "I have some of the qualities of a vampire, but some of a human, too."

He nodded again. "Right."

Kyle looked at me for a split second, then turned on his heel and started walking away. "Where are you going?" I said, shooting from the table and running at him in hyperspeed.

"I'm walking away, Renesmee!"

"Nessie," I corrected, regretting correcting him as soon as the word left my lips. "Listen, Kyle, I'm just… Why are you walking away from me?"

"Because this is crazy!" he said, waving his hands in the air. "This, Nessie, is absolutely insane. There are no such things as vampires and werewolves and half human-half vampires!"

"Would you please stop shouting?"

He looked around. "Why, because of all the people?" he said, gesturing to the no one that was around us.

"Listen," I said, reaching out to touch his arm. Strangely, he leaned into my hand. "I want to explain this to you."

"What is there to explain? You're not normal."

"What is normal these days, Kyle?"

"Human would be a good guess."

I grabbed his arm tighter in my hand. "I am human. Sort of. Not fully, but I'm there. I eat food and I sleep. I don't melt in the sun, but no vampire does that."

He looked at me with pursed lips. "What _do _you to in the sun, then?"

"We sparkle. I glow."

"This is too weird," he said, pulling away from me and zipping up his jacket. "I'm sorry, Nessie, but I have to go."

He kept his eyes on mine for five seconds and a chilled feeling washed over me. I didn't move from my spot nor did I say anything as I watched him walk across the landscape to Lincoln Park Conservatory and into the trees, his feet leaving deep footprints in the snow. It was then that I started shivering. I felt uneasy and uncomfortable. I looked down at myself, checking to make sure I was still there, before pulling my car keys out of my pocket and heading back to the red mustang sitting in the parking lot. I climbed into the driver's seat and gripped the wheel, thawing my fingers at the same time that tears gathered under my lids a spilled silently onto my cheeks. That icy 'What are you' resonated in my ears.

Even though I could breathe perfectly fine, I gasped for air and shrieked when my cell phone started ringing in the cup holder next to me. Carlisle's name flashed on the screen and I slowly reached out to pick up the device and hold it to my ear.

"Hello?" I said, wiping the mascara streaks from my cheeks in the rearview mirror on my sun visor.

"Renesmee, what's wrong?"

"I think I'm just a little overwhelmed right now," I sniffled.

He tsked his tongue once. "Darling," he said apologetically. "Why don't you come home?"

I nodded to myself in the mirror. "I'm going to… My parents aren't home, are they?"

"No," he said calmly. "They just went out hunting before I called, so, they won't be home for a few hours."

"Okay, good. I'll be home soon."

"I love you."

I stared at my reflection for a moment, then flipped it up and made myself disappear. "I love you, too… Bye."  
~*~

When I got home, Jacob, Rosalie and Emmett were still in the garage fixing her car and I was thankful that all they did was give me acknowledging smiles and allowed me to enter the house. The smell of freshly cooked French onion soup assaulted my nostrils and I inhaled deeply, smiling. Our house in Maine, before we moved to Chicago, always smelled like French onion soup because, when Jacob and I were going through our soup phase, Esme would make it all the time.

It calmed me increasingly to smell that warm aroma and my nose lead me to the kitchen, where Esme was helping Claire ladle the soup into bowls by sprinkling the cheese on top.

"Smells good," I said through a stuffy nose, taking a bowl that Esme handed me. I sipped the broth gingerly. "Tastes better."

"Claire is learning how to cook," Esme said proudly. "With a baby almost due, she'll need it."

I spooned a big mouth full of tender onions into my mouth and slurped up the cheese. "Well, you can cook for me anytime, Claire. This is amazing."

Just as I sat down at the kitchen table, Annie came flouncing in wearing light colored jeans, a purple baby doll top and black, leather ankle booties. "Hello, love," she said brightly, kissing my cheek. "Are you excited for tonight?"

"What's tonight?"

"Um, new years eve!" she said, throwing her arms up in the air. "Duh!"

My eyes flashed to the calendar that was hanging on the fridge and noticed that today was the 31st of December. "Oh, my gosh, look at that…"

She grabbed my arm and lifted me from my seat. "Come on, it's almost time to leave."

"For where!" I said as she pulled me up the stairs to my room, nearly spilling the soup I had brought with me.

We were suddenly in my closet and she was riffling through my clothes. "The boys are taking us out; you, me, and Claire." She found a clover green dress that I hadn't worn in forever, but loved, and threw it at me. "Put this on."

I did was told, painfully setting down my bowl and changing out of my jeans and t-shirt to slip the dress over my head. Instantly, a leather jacket was shoved in my face as well as brown knee-high boots. I put those on as well and was bombarded with accessories that I decorated myself with in front of the mirror. The necklace Kyle had given me was sitting on a soft, black cushion, and watched as light glinted off the cold stones. I picked up the chain, the delicate links twisting around my fingers as I dropped it into the box I had received it in and buried it in by sock drawer before Annie started tugging and pulling at my hair until it was brushed and pulled back with a headband.

"There, you're perfect."

I looked at myself in the mirror before turning away and picking up my bowl of soup. "Thanks." I slurped up some onions. "I don't understand why we have to be so dressed up, though."

"I told you, the boys are taking us out."

"To where?"

She shrugged. "Hell if I know. They were wearing suits, so…"

"What's Claire wearing?"

"This."

The two of use turned around and saw Claire standing in the doorway in a pair of dark jeans, a cream and soft pink flowing top and tan high heels. Her accessories matched the color scheme and a nude clutch was in her hand.

Annie nodded approvingly. "Nice, nice."

Rosalie wasn't far behind her in a white shirt with blue peacock feathers across the top, dark blue jeans and black high heels. Her accessories matched as well. "I invited her and Emmett along," Claire said, smiling when Rosalie threw her arm around Claire's shoulders. "I hope you don't mind."

I sipped the remaining broth. "It's fine with me," I said, putting the bowl in the dumbwaiter that was in my room and lowering it down to the kitchen. "When are we leaving."

Claire looked at the clock on my nightstand. "About now… Quil said he wanted us ready by five."

We all headed to the front door instead of the garage and the boys were waiting in the driveway, standing by Rosalie's car that was now running perfectly with Emmett in the driver's seat, and my car, which Jacob was pulling out of my spot.

"What about Embry and Zoe? Are they coming with us?" I asked, climbing into the passenger's side of my car.

"No, they left about an hour ago." I frowned. "They're meeting us at the airport."

"The _airport_?" He nodded once. "Why are we going to the airport?"

He smiled, but said nothing. "You look beautiful," he said, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles. I smiled and shifted to kiss him on the lips. "You taste good, too. What is that?"

"French onion soup. Claire made it."

He was about to kiss me again when Annie and Seth climbed into the back seat and buckled themselves in. "Ready to go?" Jacob asked, not taking his eyes off of mine.

"Yes," the two of them chorused at the same time and we pulled out of the driveway, following Rosalie's car onto the highway.

Zoe asked me to plug in her iPod and I did so, but instead of singing along like she and Seth did, I just held Jacob's hand silently and smiled contently to myself. Strangely enough, my encounter with Kyle started to slip out of my head. Jacob squeezed my hand and I smiled at him softly. We hit the main highway and started driving the way vampires do, swerving through the cars that didn't even seem to see us as we headed straight for the airport.

We got there faster than we normally would, what with Emmett leading, and walked through the surprisingly empty airport to the dock. A small, plane was waiting for us where a few other groups were piling onto the contraption. There were two seconds of seats with an aisle in between two seated rows where the eight of us sat down in front of each other. I rested my head on Jacob's shoulder, the worn out leather jacket softly touching my cheek. I took a deep breath in and was completely intoxicated by his smell, and I could feel my eyes fluttering closed, but I didn't sleep. Instead, I listened to his breathing and the soft whisper of his voice as he recited lyrics to my favorite songs into my ear.

The flight was surprisingly short, lasting only an hour and a half, and when we arrived, my eyes soaked up the New York City skyline. I'd never been before, but Claire always told me stories about when she used to visit family and she said it was a great place, as long as you didn't want to be alone. People, smells, sounds were everywhere.

She was proved amazingly right. When we stepped out of the airport, I was swept away by the hustle bustle of the city. I gripped Jacob's hand tightly and squealed. "Welcome to New York," Claire said, holding her hands out to the monstrous buildings and flashing lights.

"It's amazing," I said, sucking in the smell of hotdogs. My eyes flashed to a metal stand where a man wrapped in scarves and jackets was shouting out for people to 'Get their hotdogs 'ere!' "Can we get one?" I asked, and I didn't even need to wait for an answer. Everyone, except Rosalie and Emmett, were starving.

The six of us who ate dashed over to the stand and got hotdogs that were loaded with absolutely everything the man at the stand had. "Want some hotdog with your condiments?" the guy said with a joking grin, handing us the six dogs and taking the money we were desperately shoving in his face because we were so hungry.

I took as big of a bite as I could. It was almost as good as the French onion soup I had had earlier that day. "This is delicious," I said, giggling when Jacob wiped ketchup from my nose.

Claire and Annie nodded in agreement, gawking at their significant others when Quil and Seth started wiping off their hands because they'd finished already. I took another big bite, savoring the taste and wanting to remember this moment forever. We all ate quickly as Emmett and Rosalie sipped from the water bottles they had somehow smuggled onto the plane before we all stood and looked at each other.

"So, where are we going?"

"We're supposed to be meeting Zoe and Embry in Times Square right about now…" Seth said, looking at his watch. "They said they were waiting by the music stage, just outside."

I rubbed my hands together then. "Well, then, let's get going," I said, linking my arm around Jacob's as we started walking toward Times Square, following Claire's directions, and we learned that we weren't that far from it, only a few blocks. When we got there, we went straight for the stage and found Embry and Zoe near the entrance, dancing to the music pounding through the speakers. When they saw us, they came running over, Zoe holding down her light pink skirt as she ran. She wasn't wearing a jacket over her off-white crop top, but she did have a red beanie hat on her head, and tan combat boots with silver accessories. I could tell that either Alice or Annie packed clothes for her form my closet because most of her articles looked a lot like ones I had that had gone missing earlier that day.

"Hi!" I said, enveloping her in a hug.

"How are you?" she said into my shoulder with a smile before pulling away and hugging everyone else.

"Cold," Annie chattered, her teeth clacking together loudly. Seth wrapped his arms around her and pressed himself into her back. "Ah," she breathed in relief and when Claire started shivering as well, Quil did the same thing.

I was perfectly warm, but leaned into Jacob anyway, wiggling into his arms when her draped them around my waist. Embry took Zoe's hand and we all walked toward the stage, Rosalie and Emmett already off somewhere else where there wasn't as much of a human smell, but I could hear them not too far away from us. Pushing ourselves through the crowd, we stood as close to the stage as we could, dancing to the music that Nicki Minaj was spitting out at a rapid pace. We did this for a few hours and a few minutes before midnight, when Christina Perri was singing, and Jacob wrapped his arms around me tightly, pulling me to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and looked at Claire and Quil, who were as close as they could be with the six month baby bump between them.

"Look at them," I whispered adoringly, pointing to the couple.

Jacob looked over and smiled, laughing once. "I remember when she was just a little thing and he treated her like she was his whole world."

"He still does."

"I know. Blows my mind."

My eyes flashed to the ring that was on her ring finger, an engagement ring Quil had given her the day she got pregnant. "You do that, too, you know," I said, looking up at him. He smiled softly at me. "I love you so much, Jacob."

"I love you, too."

One of his hands moved from where it was on the small of my back and he stuck it in the pocket of his jacket. I turned my head and looked back at Claire's ring. It glinted every so often from the stage lights that were flashing around like crazy. It was strange to find that I was actually slightly jealous of that ring on her finger.

"You know, Nessie… I can't help but notice you're staring at her ring…" Jacob said slyly, making me look at him. I raised on eyebrow at him. "You know I love you for the world, right?" I nodded once. "And that I would do anything for you?" Another nod. "Okay. I'm not going to make a big speech."

"Jacob, what are you talking about?" He pulled his hand out of his pocket and a little blue box sat in the middle of his palm. I bit my lip and sucked in a giant breath. "Holy shit."

"I love you. I know we have that commitment to each other, and I'm not gonna lose you again." He opened the box to reveal a small flower made out of tiny diamonds and a rather large diamond in the middle of the lotus, with a winding band. "Nessie, will you marry me someday?"

I smiled. "Yes. Absolutely, I will."

Jacob pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it onto my finger, holding my hand against his chest. "And I'm not saying we have to get married tomorrow, or next week, or even a year from now, but…" He rested his forehead against mine and laughed once. We were quiet for a long time, just standing in the middle of a crowd of people, swaying back and forth only slightly. I took my free hand and tangled it into his hair, holding him close to me.

"I'm going to marry you one day, Miss Cullen. I will. I promise."

**Review please! Leave me love, judgements, but don't just say 'This was bad!' Constructive criticism, if that's your goal!  
REVIEW! **


	28. Chapter 46

**I'm back! And, no, I haven't died. I had a lot going on. Family and stuff. Plus, I was working on My Little Runaway with Maddux. Both of which you should check out!**

**Also, this is going to be the last chapter of this story because this story is getting wicked long. But, I'm going to create another one to continue the story. It's going to be called "What Is Love?: A Continued Guide to Love and Life" And I hope you guys will enjoy it.**

**Enjoy this last chapter!**

Chapter Forty-Six: Daydreams

Back at our hotel room, Jacob and I stayed tangled in our bed sheets for the remainder of our time in New York. Jacob showed me what he could do, and I showed him how much I was willing to let him. He would always kiss each of my fingertips, before kissing my engagement ring. It brought a smile to my face each time.

On the final day is when Emmett banged his fist heavily on the door of our room and said, "Hey, nasties, it's the last day. Spend time with us before we leave, huh?" to which Jacob responded with, "We'll be out in a minute."

"We will?" I said, lifting my chin up so our lips brushed together.

"No, I'm just saying that to buy us some time. I'd like to take you into the shower, young lady."

And with that, he shot out of bed and scooped me up, carrying me into the bathroom as shrieks echoed out of my throat. He placed me in the tub and climbed in next to me, the water beating down on his head as he turned the knob. I squealed at the icy cold water, shielding myself with his large frame until it had shifted to a temperature that was hotter than he was. Pulling away from him just slightly, I stood on my toes and pressed my lips against his. His big hands gripped at my rib cage, pushing me up against the tiled bathroom stall.

From outside the main door, I could hear Emmett banging on it again. "Jake, he's going to get angry," I said against his lips, my fingers tangling into his damp hair to pull his face away from mine. He frowned at me. "He will probably end up hitting you."

"I can take him," he said, flexing his muscles bravely.

When Jacob tried to move in for another kiss, I furrowed my brow together and gave him a stare that Rosalie had taught me too well. "Jacob Black," I said in a warning tone. "You stop it right now."

"I don't want to."

I smiled once and kissed him softly, but only for a moment before I began tending to the shampoo, working up lather in my hands before tangling it into my hair. He watched me as I moved, mixing the bubbles in with my roots, then the tips of my hair, then everything else. Jacob smiled once before grabbing the bar of soap and sliding it up and down his muscled arms as bubbles cleaned off the two days worth of activities we had participated in. The two of us finished quickly and then we just stood under the flow of water, his arms hooked around my waist as I ran my fingers through his soaking wet hair.

"God, I just don't think I could ever get enough of you," he whispered, resting his forehead against mine as, somehow, my long legs wound their way around his waist. "I'd never get sick of anything you could ever give me, do, or say."

He kissed me, pushing me against the tile wall again. Hot water beat down on us as Jacob's lips trailed around on my skin and made it burn more than the water did. His teeth nipped at my collarbone and my head fell back against the wall, fingers gripping the back of his neck. Sensations flew through my veins, gathering together just a couple inches south of my belly button. Jacob knew this, and stepped himself a couple notches until I was nearly screaming just at his touch.

Needless to say, if you haven't had sex in the shower, now is a good time to try it.

We were just climbing out of the shower when there was a final loud knock on the door, but instead of Emmett's voice, it was Rosalie's. "Nessie, sweetie, is everything okay in there?"

With the towel tucked in place, I scampered over to the door and pulled it open, wrapping a towel around my long hair. "Yeah, everything's fine."

"It's just that you two haven't come out of this hotel room for two straight days..." She chuckled. I nodded once and she took a step toward me. "Emmett told me about that morning. The one where he caught you two?" My cheeks lit up in flames. "I'm haven't told Edward, and I'm not scolding you. In fact, I'm kind of screaming 'You go, girl' in my head, but just..." She handed be a plastic pharmacy bag. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment. "Be careful, okay?" She whispered solemnly, her eyes glazing over in unwarranted fear of the unknown, and perhaps the fear of the past as well.

"Yeah, I will," I rushed out, looking down at the maroon colored rug to avoid awkward eye contact. "We have to get dressed."

"Okay... We're packing up everything now. The flight is at three."

"Okay." Rosalie started walking away and I shut the door, all but collapsing on the floor in horror when it had shut fully.

"What did she say?" Jacob asked, looping a belt through his jeans.

I gripped the pharmacy bag tightly in my hands. "She said to be careful," I said, reaching into the bag to pull out the box that rested inside. "And she gave us some condoms."

"So, we'll use them. We don't have to if you don't want to, but you know... Safety."

I nodded once, throwing both the box and the bag into the suitcase sitting on the armchair. "Yeah..."

Jacob pulled a gray t-shirt over his head and I grabbed a pair of light wash jeans and a white shirt, putting them on before slipping my feet into brown combat boots similar to the ones Annie had worn on New Years Eve. A gray scarf hung around my neck and emerald studs found their way into my earlobes. Finally, I pulled a beanie over my hair and buttoned a bright red, dress pea coat over my chest and turned to face Jacob who was wearing the leather jacket I'd gotten him for Christmas.

"Ready?"

I nodded once, slipping my phone into the back pocket of my jeans and zipping the suitcase closed. Jacob pulled it off the chair and extended the handle before holding his hand out to me.

"Then, let's go."

We exited the hotel room and I used my thumb to rotate the ring on my finger, watching as the flower disappeared behind my finger and reappeared. I was about to ask Jacob where he got the ring when my phone buzzed in my pocket, indicating a text from Claire that told me Emmett and Rosalie had gone off hunting, and the four of them were in the dining hall for lunch before it was time to head to the airport.

We found them at a table far off in the corner so the three boys who were stuffing their faces wouldn't be as noticed. Claire, Zoe and Annie sat across from each other, laughing and eating their meals slowly as they talked about what I could only assume was the ridiculousness of their imprints, judging by those all too well known smiles on their lips. When we sat down, Jacob started perusing the menu and I carefully picked up mine, reading the names to a bunch of breakfast dishes that cost ten dollars a strip of bacon. Jacob put his menu down almost as soon as he picked it up.

"Well, I know what I want," he said, sipping the water a waiter had poured for him. "Can I get the breakfast platter with extra bacon and eggs?"

The waited raised his eyes. "You think you can handle the whole platter by yourself?"

Jacob shrugged. "Why not? I'm a man. I can take it."

"You got it, buddy. What about you, Miss?"

"Can I get a Western omelet, please?"

"Absolutely. Those will be right out."

The waiter disappeared and I slipped into the conversation about Seth, Quil, Embry, and Jacob and how wonderful they were and if Jacob and I had had sex. I smiled and told them it was none of their business. They kept pushing and when they realized I wasn't going to share, the switched the topics and I fell silent, my mind wandering back to the small, little house in Chicago, twelve hours away, where Kyle was sitting with his sister.

And, for some reason, I felt uneasy. I didn't know why. So, I ignored it, and tried to focus on who was sitting next to me, but it didn't work.

All I could think about was Kyle.  
~*~

Breakfast went by quickly. Our meals were brought out at the same time, and we scarfed them down; we were so hungry. Rosalie and Emmett returned just as we were paying the bill, their hands in each other's back pockets.

"Are we all set and ready to go? The plane is gonna leave in an hour and a half."

Embry waved his hands once. "Ah, don't worry about it. We could run home if we wanted to. I'd probably be faster."

Seth looked at all of us. "Why don't we run home? The girls could ride on our backs. We could stick to the woods. It'd be fine."

"I'm not okay with Claire riding on my back," he said, placing his hand on her six month baby bump.

"I'll carry her," Emmett said as he threw his arm over her shoulder. "You can run behind me and make sure I'm being careful with this delicate, little creature and it's mother."

Claire and Quil exchanged looks, their silent conversation ending in a decision that yes, Emmett could carry her and we would be running back home. We left the dining hall, bags thrown over the boy's shoulders as we hailed down two taxis and piled in. It didn't take too long for us to find a gas station that was on the borderline of the woods. We stocked up on sugary snacks to keep the boys going for the run back to Chicago.

We retreated to the woods, standing back as the boys shifted into their wolf form. Claire, Annie, and I were used to watching them strip down to their bare necessities, and the three of us chatted lightly as Zoe watched with wide eyes, intrigued but horrified as she saw Embry's entire body for what I could only assume was the first time before he crouched down on the ground. She took a step back when all four of the boys shifted at the same time, their figures growing to three times their size in seconds.

Embry, now covered in pale gray fur, ducked his head down at the horrified look that Zoe was making. A small whining noise came from his throat and I felt my heart pick up slightly when Zoe put down her bag and took a cautious step toward him. When she was only inches from him, she reached her hand out and ran her fingers through his sleek, black spotted fur. Embry's big head instantly moved in the direction of her palm and I remembered the night that Kyle found out about Jacob. How, when Kyle left, Jake and I stayed outside and just sat in silence, my fingers running through his fur.

"Alright, friends," Emmett said, breaking the beautiful moment and he gracefully scooped Claire into his arms. She yelped, her hands gripping at his head. "Let's go."

"Please, warn me the next time you're going to do that," she said with a laugh, their foreheads resting together as she wiggled her nose against his.

This exchange confused me for a moment but when I felt Jacob's head bump against my hand, an image shifted into my head of Rosalie, Emmett and Claire, talking about the baby in the living room. From the setting, I could tell when it was during those months when I had shut myself in my room.

"_I think it's wonderful that you're going to have a baby," Rose said, placing her cold hands on the barely visible bump that captured Claire's abdomen._

"_Do you?"_

_Rosalie nodded. "I do. I always wanted children, but I didn't get the chance." She pulled her hands back and felt them like she was examining the cold they possessed. "I got this instead."_

_Claire nodded once. "What about you, Emmett? Have you always wanted kids?"_

"_I'd never really thought about it until I met Rose. By then, it was too late for the both of us, but, if it weren't, I saw myself having kids with her right away."_

_He leaned in and kissed her. "Listen... I'm going to be a mom. And, I'm going to need help." Rose grabbed Claire's hand in excitement and looked like she nearly broke the girl's_ _fingers. _

"_Yeah?" _

"_And, if you and Emmett, I don't know... Want to be the baby's god parents, I'm sure_ _Quil would be more then willing to have you as the part. The job's yours if you want it." _

_Rosalie and Emmett looked at each other for a moment, then looked back to Claire and_ _nodded. "Yes. Of course." _

_Claire leaned forward and linked her arms around their necks and hugged them. They_ _gently hugged her back before she stood and left, leaving Rosalie, Emmett, and the onlooker alone. They looked at the person who's eyes I was watching through and smiled._

"_I mean, it's okay, right?"_

"_Yeah, of course it is. If Claire wants it, she gets it, and honestly, I can't think of anyone more perfect for the job," I heard Quil's voice say and Rosalie looked like someone had placed a beating heart in her chest._

Jacob's head moved and the vision disappeared from my mind. I looked down at him and whispered, "How did you show that to me? It was Quil, not you." Jacob nodded to the wolf with chocolate brown fur, Quil, who was staring at me. "Oh, of course. You can share thoughts," I said to myself, smiling.

Jacob pressed his head to mine like that night in my driveway before I grabbed the fur behind his ears and hitched myself onto his back. Annie had done the same with Seth and it was still taking courage for Zoe to settle herself in the fur behind Embry's head.

"Just swing your leg up," I offered.

"I'll give you a hand if you need it," Emmett said with a laugh.

"It's not that I can't get up, it's that I'm afraid to," she admitted slightly frazzled and embarrassed.

Annie piped up, "She's still adjusting to the whole wolf thing."

Rosalie walked over to Zoe and stroked her blonde hair. "I know it's a change, and it's strange, but it's the same old Embry. Look." She brought Zoe around to look at him. "Look at his eyes." Zoe's hands found their way back into his fur as she looked deeply into the dark brown eyes of the wolf before her. "Same old Embry."

Zoe laughed once, almost like she was going to cry. She took one more step forward and hugged his neck as best she could, her face pressed into his fur. "Okay," she whispered, moving to his side and gripping the fur by his shoulder blades. "Give me a hand?" she said to Rosalie, who then linked her fingers together and allowed Zoe to use as a step up to swing her leg over Embry's back and settle down.

Once everyone was set and Rosalie had finished situating the bags on the respective wolf's backs, we turned toward the direction of home and started running. I leaned forward, my head resting on Jacob's neck. I twisted my fingers into his rusty brown fur until I felt the warm skin underneath and focused until I was shifting images into his head. Minutes flew by as he and I watched the night we first kissed, the night we first said 'I love you', the night we first slept together, every precious moment in New York.

Before I knew it, we were stopping at a gas station because Claire had to pee since "There is a bowling ball sitting on my bladder."

We all climbed off our imprints and waited as they shifted back into human form and got dressed. "I kind of have to pee, too," Seth said. "That Red Bull went right through me."

Rosalie looked at me. "Are you hungry?" I nodded eagerly. "Why don't the three of us hunt while we wait? I'm starving."

"Yes, please," I said, feeling the burn in my throat at just the thought of blood since I hadn't hunted in weeks. It had all been human food and it was draining me of the energy I could have.

Kissing Jacob on the cheek, I dashed off with my aunt and uncle, catching the scent of a deer almost immediately. Whipping my head to the left, I stared off into the trees, making myself as still as possible. I didn't even breathe. Carefully, I tiptoed through the woods and caught the creature drinking from a small river. My eyes squared in on the doe, her head lifting when she heard a twig snap. I made a mental note to hit Emmett. He was the loudest hunter I knew. And I knew a lot.

Without wasting another moment, I charged forward and preyed on the deer, sighing at the satisfying taste. The burning in my throat eased. I felt myself fill up quickly. Apologizing to the deer and leaving my victim by the water, I met the crew back at the gas station. Jacob hooked his hands around my waist and kissed me, pulling away almost instantly.

"Girl, you need some gum!"

"I have gum," Annie said, throwing a pack of gum and me.

I snagged a piece and threw it back, kissing Jacob long and hard. "Ah, minty fresh." I laughed and kissed him again. "Everybody ready to go? It's getting dark and Claire's going to freeze if she stays in the ice box's arms for much longer..."

Emmett punched Jacob in the shoulder. He punched him back and soon, the two were tussling on the ground, punching each other in the jaw and kicking each other in the stomach.

"Alright, hooligans," Annie called from her spot atop Seth's back. "Let's go."

Emmett and Jacob shot from the ground and shook hands. Jake shifted back into his wolf form and I climbed on his shoulders, returning to my spot, leaning against his neck.

We started running again. I returned to my job of shifting images into his head. This time, it was things I imagined myself; the daydreams I had when I was younger, the wet dreams I had now. When I showed him the dream I had that involved a predator and it's victim, Jacob growled. The loud rumbling echoed in my ear and I grinned.

Soon, the sun started to set and the sky was turning into a pale pink color. I watched it fade into dark blue, my eyelids feeling heavy. We made it back to the house just before 9 o'clock. I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep to the repeating rhythm of Jacob's running and the warmth of his body and the humming of his heartbeat.

No one was home and a note from my dad indicated that they had gone out hunting for the weekend. While everyone else quickly retreated into their respective bedrooms, Jacob and I lazy walked up the driveway.

"I liked your dream," he whispered to me as we walked into the house, his lips by my ear. "My dream?"

"You don't remember it?" I shook my head. "It was you and I, at the beach house in Old Orchard Beach. We had a puppy and a new addition to the family." I bit my lips. "Ollie. Oliver Logan."

"It's a shame I don't remember."

He dragged me up the stairs to my room. "I do." He kicked my door shut and pushed me down on my bed as I laughed. "You just need to touch me so you can see it."

Jacob pulled his shirt over his head and pressed his chest against mine after I'd pulled mine off. I felt myself burning from his touch. Concentrating, I allowed the memory of my dream to flow into my mind. I smiled at the image of a little boy with pale skin and thick black hair running around an open windowed condo. Jacob was chasing him around, making monster noises and scary faces as the little boy, who Dream Jacob addressed as Oliver Logan Black, screamed in delight. Dream Nessie waddled in with her hands placed on her growing baby belly.

"It was a pretty good dream," Jacob whispered in my ear as his hands moved to undo the button to my jeans and pull them down my legs. "But, to be honest, I liked the one about hunting better."

My eyebrow arched. "Oh, did you? That one is my favorite."

"Can we reenact it?" he asked me, his brown eyes wide and curious.

I wasn't able to answer. He kissed down my chest and over my stomach. Jacob dragged his lips over the skin on my thighs. My fingers tangled into his hair and I tried to move him in the right direction, but he shot back up to kiss me.

I wiggled under him impatiently. "Jacob. Stop teasing me." Jake grinned at me and bit his lip. My hands ran down the front of his torso and stopped at his own jeans. "Teasing isn't nice." I felt his hands moving over my thighs. Whenever he got painfully close to that spot, he'd move away. I pouted. "I'm going to get you back for this if you keep carrying on this way."

Honestly though, I don't think either of us cared. We rolled around until we were swathed in the sheets and most of our clothes had mysteriously disappeared. Our kisses continued to deepen and our hands began to roam each other's bodies freely. My kisses were gradually getting lower and lower on his abdomen when, suddenly, there was a loud ringing that bounced through the house as the doorbell rang. "Don't answer it," he said, pressing his hot lips against my neck.

"It'll only take a second, I'll be right back baby. I bet it will be worth the wait." I growled seductively.

He looked up at me with a serious look in his eyes. "Seriously, don't answer it. Someone else will."

Jacob leaned down to kiss me but the ringing continued. When I shifted to get up, his hands, which were big enough to grip nearly my entire rib cage, held me down. The look in his eyes was dangerous and seductive. I bit my lip and tangled my fingers into his hair, pulling him down on me and kissing him passionately.

The ringing continued.

"Okay, I need to answer the door," I said, pushing on his chest harder then necessary to lift him off me.

I grabbed a shirt and slipped it over my head, pairing it with a pair of pajama shorts before running down stairs. The bell was ringing over and over again as I charged through the living room and flung the front door open. I froze.

"Kyle," I shot out, pulling my shirt close around me when I realized that it was a little lower cut the necessary. "What are you doing here?"

He looked up at me with eyes that were so tired, they were red around the edges. "Nessie," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Yeah?"

"We need to talk..."

**Review for the love of the finale! And keep a look out for the next story. It should be up soon, and I mean that. I'm not taking anymore long ass breaks. **

**And thank you so much to Shazzanips for becoming my beta! I hope you're up for the challenge. I'm difficult to work with :)**

**That's the end, guys. If you're not looking to continue, don't. But, What Is Love should be up sometime soon. :) **


	29. Update

HEY EVERYONE! I'm not dead, I'm well and alive, but I'm stepping in to let all of you know that the first chapter for What is Love?: A Continuation is up! I know it's been forever but whatever. It's up and running! Go check it out!

Love, Renee


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